The third time was a charm for Louisiana Tech third baseman Hunter Wells Thursday.
Wells became the third different Bulldog to earned All-America honors this season when he was named a Baseball America First Team All-American on Thursday morning, making him the ninth All-America selection in program history.
Wells joins teammates Taylor Young and Jonathan Fincher as the trio of Bulldogs to earn All-America honors in 2021. Young was named a Collegiate Baseball Third Team All-American on June 3, while Fincher received NCBWA Third Team All-American honors Wednesday.
Wells, who ranks second in the nation with 101 hits, adds the All-American honor to a long list of individual accolades from a historic 2021 season. The third baseman earned First Team All-Conference USA honors, Conference USA All-Tournament Team accolades and Ruston NCAA Regional All-Tournament honors in his final season as a Diamond Dog.
The Katy, Texas native led Conference USA in batting average (.385), hits (101) and total bases (169). Wells also led the Bulldogs in slugging percentage (.645) and home runs (14).
The third baseman set four records in his final season in Ruston, two of which were Bulldog career records. Wells set the all-time Bulldog hits record with 279 base hits across his LA Tech career, breaking his own single-season hits record on the same swing. He became the first Tech player in program history to reach and then surpass 100 hits in a single season with a home run and an infield single in his final game in a Bulldog uniform.
Wells’ infield single in the bottom of the ninth in the Ruston NCAA Regional final also helped him break the single-season total bases record with his 169th total base of the 2021 season. A triple in the Conference USA Tournament against WKU helped him notch the 10th three-bagger of his career, another LA Tech Baseball career record.
PHOTO: by Emerald McIntyre.
