DETROIT -- Junior outfielder
Drew Hill (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) and redshirt junior starting pitcher
Will Lowery (Grosse Ile, Mich. [Kalamazoo Valley C.C.]) of the Wayne State University baseball team were named All-Region by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) on Friday.
Drew Hill, the 2024 GLIAC Freshman Player of the Year and Second Team All-GLIAC performer saw a return to form in 2026. That rookie season, Hill hit .327 before regressing to a .240 clip as a sophomore, but bounced back in a big way for his third go-around in the Green and Gold. The Wayne State right fielder hit .393 (77-for-196) with 50 runs scored, 10 doubles, five triples, 11 home runs, 53 RBI, 130 total bases, 36 walks, 11 stolen bases (11-for-13), and a 1.144 OPS. Having started all 53 of the Green and Gold's games, the only Warrior to do so, Hill registered multiple hits in a team-high 25 contests (six more than next-best mark) and three-base knocks in 11 contests (seven more than second-best total). The left-handed slugger's longest hitting streak was 10 (tied-for-second on the team) and he reached base in as many as 22 in a row (third). Hill was hitting as high as .445 in late April following a stretch in which he finished with at least two hits in six of seven games.
Following 57 wins in two seasons at Kalamazoo Valley Community College, the most in program history,
Will Lowery took his talents to Detroit and quickly became the ace of the staff. Lowery made 15 appearances, 13 starts (two complete games), with an 8-2 win-loss record, one save (2.2 IP vs. No. 6 GVSU to split series), 75 and one-third innings pitched, a 3.82 ERA, .250 batting average against, 60 strikeouts, and 18 walks. The right-handed hurler gave up three earned runs or less in all but two of those 13 starts and two earned or fewer in eight of them, none of which were more impressive than his first career start in a GLIAC contest. On March 20 at Parkside, Lowery went the nine-inning distance while recording Wayne State's first nine-inning no-hitter since 2019, and just the second in the last 22 years, with 119 pitches, one unearned run, one free pass, and 10 punchouts. Not only did that effort garner him the GLIAC Pitcher of the Week distinction, but also NCBWA National Pitcher of the Week recognition.
Looking ahead to the 2027 season, the core of Wayne State's talent will start with Hill and Lowery playing in their final collegiate campaigns.