Baseball Well-Represented In Preseason Awards Haul

TEMPE – Sun Devil Baseball was no stranger to collegiate baseball's preseason awards season with numerous members of the roster earning Preseason All-America, All-Conference and Top Prospect recognition.

The Sun Devils were tied for the nation's lead with three players named to the 2025 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List while four Sun Devils garnered at least one All-America honor.
 
The pitching staff's ace, southpaw Ben Jacobs, headlines the preseason awards haul, garnering three All-America nods in addition to a spot on the Golden Spikes Watch List.
 
To read more about ASU's preseason accolades, see below.  Ben Jacobs – Left-Handed Pitcher
D1Baseball Preseason All-American (3rd Team Starting Pitcher)
Perfect Game Preseason All-American (2nd Team Starting Pitcher)
NCBWA Preseason All-American (2nd Team Starting Pitcher)
2025 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List
D1Baseball #13 Starting Pitcher
D1Baseball #28 2025 MLB Draft Prospect/#4 Big 12
Baseball America #127 2025 MLB Draft Prospect/#7 Big 12 
All-Big 12 Preseason Team (Starting Pitcher)

• Evolved into ASU's ace as last season progressed, earning Pac-12 Honorable Mention honors
• Named Prospects Live No. 2 left-handed pitching prospect for the 2025 MLB Draft
• Was named the the U.S. Collegiate National Team in the summer, becoming the 43rd Sun Devil to accomplish the feat
• Recorded action on the mound in the International Friendship Series…Completed the series with a 2.08 ERA and seven strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work … Finished with a 1-0 overall record…Yielded just two hits in a weather-shortened 3-2 win over Chinese Taipei in Cary, N.C., on June 30
• Tossed 5.0 scoreless innings for Cotuit in the Cape Cod League with eight strikeouts over 5.0 innings
• Finished with a 4.75 ERA and a team-best seven wins on the season, striking out 102 over 66.1 innings with a sub-.250 average against
• The 102 strikeouts were 43rd nationally overall and 33rd following the end of the conference tournament season
• His 13.84 K/9 was 11th nationally and tops in the Pac-12 and his seven wins were third in the league
• Jacobs struck out a career-best 11 hitters in his Friday night win over USC, earning a quality start with a career-best 6.1 innings of work while allowing just a single run. He added a second quality start in 6.0 scoreless innings against Stanford with nine strikeouts

Brandon Compton - Outfielder
NCBWA Preseason All-American (1st Team Designated Hitter)
2025 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List
D1Baseball #13 Outfielder
D1Baseball #29 2025 MLB Draft Prospect/#5 Big 12
Baseball America #29 2025 MLB Draft Prospect/#3 Big 12 

• Became the 37th Freshman All-American in program history after becoming the fourth Sun Devil to be named Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year
• Went on to be named an All-Star in the Cape Cod League for Cotuit, where he bat .331 with six homers and 30 RBIs
• Was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year after he led Pac-12 freshmen in homers (14), doubles (16), average (.354), slugging (.661), OBP (.427) and RBIs (51). He was 11th overall in doubles, 10th in homers, seventh in average, fifth in slugging, 11th in OBP and 14th in RBI.
• He was 35th among all players nationally in batting average on balls in play (.438)
• His .354 batting average was 10th among all D1 freshmen and third among Power Five Freshmen and his 14 homers were eighth among all freshmen nationally
• The youngster was third on the team with his .354 average this season. His .375 mark (24-of-64) with runners in scoring position was second on the team.
• 27 of his 51 RBIs came with two outs, leading the team in the category and having five more than any other player.
• Compton recorded three grand slams on the season, tied for the second most in program history and just one shy of the ASU single season record.
• His 1.089 OPS was third on the squad and fourth in the Pac-12 while his .307 ISO Slugging (Slugging Minus Average) was fifth the Pac-12.
• Compton was easily ASU's best hitter with two outs this season, recording a .438 average on 28-of-64 chances, leading the team in average and hits in the scenario.
• He was responsible for the go-ahead grand slam in the series finale against Ohio State that proved to be the difference in the 10-8 ballgame. He also had a huge game-tying RBI single in the eighth inning of ASU's eventual walk-off win over Oregon. He had the go-ahead two-run homer against Utah Valley as well. 

Kien Vu - Outfielder
NCBWA Preseason All-American (2nd Team Outfielder)
D1Baseball #14 Outfielder
D1Baseball #21 Big 12 2025 MLB Draft Prospect
???????Baseball America #136 2025 MLB Draft Prospect/#8 Big 12 
All-Big 12 Preseason Team (Outfielder)

• Became the 133rd All-American in Sun Devil Baseball history after posting a .413 average over 47 games and 35 starts – the highest average in the Pac-12 and sixth in the country...He was second in the country in batting average on balls in play at .511
• In the month of April, Vu posted a .439 average to lead the Sun Devils, boasting a gaudy .848 slugging percentage that was 100 points higher than any of his teammates. He had seven homers, four doubles and a triple while driving in 26 runs - 12 more than any other Sun Devil for the month. His efforts garnered him finalist consideration for the NCBWA Hitter of the Month
• His .793 slugging percentage (14 homers, 11 doubles, two triples) was easily tops on the team while he also led the squad with 12 stolen bases on 13 chances. He reached base at a .497 clip on the year
• The .793 slugging percentage was 18th nationally and second in the Pac-12 and his .497 OBP was second in the league and 29th in the country... The .793 slugging percentage was the highest at ASU since the 1998 season
• His 56 RBIs were second on the squad and eighth in the Pac-12 despite having over 20 fewer at-bats than the team's eight AB leaders and nearly 64 fewer AB's than the next closest player in front of him in the conference
• He led the Pac-12 in league-only games with a .418 average and .916 slugging percentage and his 31 RBIs in Pac-12 games were fifth in the league.

Jacob Tobias – First Base
NCBWA Preseason All-American (2nd Team First Baseman)
D1Baseball #6 First Baseman

• Bat .322 with a team-leading 58 RBIs, 14 doubles and a team-leading 18 homers, the latter of which was good for second in the Pac-12 during the regular season. His .635 slugging percentage was sixth in the league in the regular season...He slugged .626 in Pac-12 games, the ninth-best tally in the conference
• Earned Pac-12 First Team All-Conference recognition at first base
• His 14 doubles gave him 33 for his ASU career while the 18 homers bumped his career tally to 35. The 35 homers are the seventh-most for a player in the career at ASU since the 1998 season
• Needs three homers to move into ASU's top-10 in homers all-time and 22 home runs would set the ASU school record
• Tobias' 146 career RBIs are the 10th-most for an ASU player since the 1998 season and he needs 54 RBIs to reach 200 for his career and enter the Top-8 in ASU history and the first since Ike Davis (2006-08) to do so
• His .553 career slugging percentage is also 19th at ASU in that time since 1998
• Tobias has a 24-game active reached base streak carrying over into the season
• The junior posted his first career five-hit game in the finale against Arizona and added a four-hit game against Utah. He added another five-hit game in just seven innings against Texas Tech
• Tobias recorded 21 RBIs in his last six games of the season (six, eight, four, one, two, one) 
• He joined Spencer Torkelson as the only other Sun Devil in the last decade to record over 50 RBIs and over 10 homers in back-to-back seasons. His 58 RBIs last season were sixth in the Pac-12

Kyle Walker – Second Base
2025 Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List
D1Baseball #12 Second Baseman

• Participated in the 2024 MLB Draft Combine
• Represented the U.S. Collegiate National Team during the summer, competing in the International Friendship Series against Chinese Taipei in Cary, N.C.
• As a redshirt sophomore in 2024, led Grambling State with a career-best .381 batting average, 11 home runs, 77 hits, and 71 runs scored.
• Recorded 114 defensive assists and turned 26 double plays in 2024
• Concluded his two-year career at Grambling State with a .376 batting average, .500 on-base percentage, 13 home runs, 135 hits, 70 RBIs, and 121 runs scored
• Began his Grambling State career in 2023 after redshirting his freshman year at Louisiana Tech, starting at second base and batted .372 with 2 home runs, 58 hits, and 50 runs scored in his debut season 

OTHER HONORS

• Nu'u Contrades – D1Baseball #8 Third Baseman/D1Baseball #22 Big 12 2025 MLB Draft Prospect
• Matt King – D1Baseball #34 Shortstop
• Jack Martinez  - D1Baseball #92 Starting Pitcher
• Isaiah Jackson - D1Baseball #19 Big 12 2025 MLB Draft Prospect/Baseball America #182 2025 MLB Draft Prospect/Baseball American #10 Big 12 2025 MLB Draft Prospect
• Lucas Kelly - D1Baseball #31 Big 12 2025 MLB Draft Prospect
• Derek Schaefer - D1Baseball #6 Big 12 2026 MLB Draft Prospect
• Cole Carlon - D1Baseball #8 Big 12 2026 MLB Draft Prospect
• Wyatt Halvorson - D1Baseball#16 Big 12 2026 MLB Draft Prospect
• Landon Hairston - D1Baseball #4 Big 12 Impact Freshman
• Ky McGary - D1Baseball #23 Big 12 Impact Freshman