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Stanford had a nation-best three players on Baseball America's preseason All-America first team, as announced by the publication Thursday.

Ranked ninth in Baseball America's preseason top 25, Stanford was represented on the first team by pitcher Mark Appel, outfielder Austin Wilson and first baseman Brian Ragira.

Appel is the nation's only player to repeat as a preseason first team All-American. Appel was the only unanimous selection in the scouting director balloting.

North Carolina State was the only other team to land multiple players on the first team in Trea Turner and Carlos Rodon.

The Pac-12 Conference landed more players on the first team (four) than any other conference and produced nine All-Americans overall.

Baseball America annually polls major league scouting directors to vote on the team and make their selections based on performance, talent and professional potential.

In the past, the preseason All-America team has been a predictor both of the first round of the draft and of team success. Nine of the 15 draft-eligible members of last year's first team became first-round picks last June, two others were supplemental first-rounders and all 15 were selected in the top three rounds.

The Cardinal opens the 2013 season with a three-game series at Rice (Feb. 15-17).

Men's basketball
Former standout Ron Tomsic will be honored as Stanford's representative for induction into this year's Pac-12 Men's Basketball Hall of Honor.

The induction is scheduled for Saturday, March 16, during a ceremony prior to the Championship Game at the 2013 Pac-12 Tournament held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.

Inductees for the other conference schools include: Jason Gardner (Arizona), Dennis Hamilton (Arizona State), Shareef Abdur-Rahim (California), Cliff Meely (Colorado), Chuck Rask (Oregon), Charlie Sitton (Oregon State), Lucius Allen (UCLA), Forrest Twogood (USC), Keith Van Horn (Utah), Nate Robinson (Washington) and James McKean (Washington State).

A three-time All-Pacific Coast Conference selection (1952, 1953, 1954), Ron Tomsic appeared in 87 career games for Stanford, averaging 16.3 points while shooting 38.7 percent overall and 74.9 percent from the free throw line.

A native of Oakland and product of Fremont High School, Tomsic wrapped up his career with 1,416 points, earning him the distinction as one of 40 players in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau.

Tomsic's 1,416 career points ranks 14th in school history while his 16.3 scoring average is good for eighth all-time. Tomsic is the only Stanford player to score at least 38 points in a game three times. In a 92-78 win over USC on back Feb. 4, 1955, Tomsic finished with a career-high 40 points, making him one of only seven Cardinal players to reach the 40-point mark.

As a rookie in 1951-52, Tomsic played in 28 games and averaged 11.5 points while scoring 321 points (127-294) and leading the team in assists.

One year later, Tomsic competed in 27 games and averaged 19.0 points and 6.2 rebounds per game while tallying 515 points (193-626).

Tomsic's 1953-54 campaign was cut short, appearing in only seven games before suffering a season-ending knee injury. The 5-11 guard totaled 98 points (39-90) before being sidelined.

In 1954-55, Tomsic averaged 19.3 points and 3.7 rebounds per game as one of Stanford's key contributors for first-year head coach Howard Dallmar. Tomsic poured in 482 points while shooting 47.5 percent (173-364) overall. He also connected at a team-best 77.7 percent from the charity stripe.

A member of the 1956 U.S. Olympic team that captured the gold medal in Melbourne, Australia, Tomsic averaged 11.1 points in eight contests and scored a team-best 18 points in the semifinal victory over Uruguay.

Competing alongside Bill Russell and K.C. Jones, Tomsic and the American squad won its games by an average margin of more than 53 points per game.

Tomsic and teammate Jim Walsh (1950-52) are the only two Stanford basketball players to represent the U.S. in Olympic competition.

Following graduation, Tomsic was drafted by the Syracuse Nationals in the 11th round of the 1955 NBA Draft but did not play professionally.

Women's basketball
For the second year in a row Stanford junior forward Chiney Ogwumike has been named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District 8 Team, the organization announced Thursday.

The Cypress, Texas native and consensus national player of the year candidate will now be included on the national ballot with selections from the other seven districts, vying for a spot on the 2013 CoSIDA Academic All-America Team.

Ogwumike was one of three Pac-12 players on the District 8 team, joined by California's Layshia Clarendon and Utah's Taryn Wicijowski. Ta'Rea Cunnigan of San Jose State and Sammie Jensen from Utah Valley State rounded out the five-woman team.

The selection adds to a decorated week for Ogwumike, an international relations major and owner of a 3.41 cumulative grade-point average.

— Stanford Athletics

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