TUCSON, Ariz. – Five Northwest Mississippi baseball sophomores have been selected as "2018 Players to Watch" in the most recent edition of Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

Infielder Justin Milam, outfielders Brant Blaylock and Grant McMinn, right-hander Kyle Moore and left-hander Ian Hawkins represented the Rangers in the preseason list, joining players from Jones County, Hinds and Pearl River.

Milam played in 30 games for the Rangers last season before suffering a season-ending injury at Hinds. The Madison native .hit .241 with 10 doubles, three home runs and 10 RBIs.

Arriving as a transfer from Mississippi State, Blaylock will play one season with Northwest as a redshirt sophomore. Last season with the Bulldogs, the Southaven native played in 35 games (26 starts) and hit .193 with a double, two triples, two home runs and 10 RBIs. He was named No. 47 in Perfect Game's Top 100 college sophomores.

McMinn started in 41 contests last season for the Rangers and batted .267 with 15 doubles, a home run and 19 RBIs. He also scored scored 19 runs and was 10-for-12 in stolen bases, along with a .963 fielding percentage.

A native of Hernando, Moore appeared in 11 games on the mound last season, earning seven starts. He finished 2-1 with a 4.02 ERA with two complete games and struck out 33 batters against 17 walks in 47 innings of work.

Hawkins appeared in 10 games on the mound, including six starts, and was 0-3 with a 5.88 ERA and 31 strikeouts in 25 innings of work. The DeSoto Central product punched out a career-high five batters in each of his first four appearances last season and surrendered two earned runs or less in four of his six starts.

Ranked seventh in the NJCAA's Division II preseason poll, Northwest returns 17 sophomores from last year's team, including seven pitchers. A talented crop of freshmen are also expected to make an impact this season.

Northwest will open the 2018 season on Saturday, Feb. 10 against Lincoln Trail College. The doubleheader will begin at noon at Jim Miles Field.