Friday, January 26, 2024
by Thomas Lal

PORTLAND, Ore. –  Three days after being selected for NCBWA preseason first team all-region honors, Montana State Billings’ Payton Flynn has been named an honorable mention for the 2024 NCBWA NCAA Division II Preseason All-America Teams.

Flynn, a senior outfielder from Kennewick, Wash., has been no stranger to individual accolades over the past year. In addition to this year’s NCBWA preseason recognition, he was named to the 2023 ABCA/Rawlings Division II All-West Region first team, the 2023 D2CCA All-West Region second team, the 2023 NCBWA NCAA Division II All-West Region first team and the 2023 GNAC Baseball All-Confernce first team. For his latest honors, Fylnn appeared on at least 25% of the ballots submitted.

Flynn was one of the best batters in the conference when it came to power last season, leading the conference with 14 home runs, 46 RBIs, 123 total bases and a .728 slugging percentage. He finished the season with a .361 batting average to rank fourth in the league on 61 hits, including 16 doubles and two triples.  

In addition to his powerful batting, Flynn was an everyday presence for MSUB in the outfield, starting 47 of the team’s 48 games. Across those starts, Flynn notched 48 putouts and owned a .980 fielding percentage with just one error on the season.

Flynn was the only selection for the GNAC on the team ahead of a season where the Yellowjackets were one of two teams picked to finish third in the regular season. Flynn and the rest of his MSUB teammates will begin their 2024 campaign on the road with a three-game series at San Francisco State that begins on Saturday, Feb. 1.