NEW ORLEANS – Little Rock senior pitcher Aaron Funk has been tabbed the Sun Belt Conference's Preseason Pitcher of the Year, voted on by the league's head coaches. He was also named to the preseason All-Sun Belt team, coming off a strong shortened 2020 season.
Funk registered a 2.01 ERA in a Sun-Belt best 31.1 innings pitched last season, allowing just seven runs as opposed to 37 strikeouts, tied for third in the league and 26th nationally. In his four Sunday starts, he registered a 2-0 record with a pair of complete games, one of which was the 17-strikeout performance against North Alabama on March 1, tying the NCAA single-game high for 2020 as well as the Sun Belt single-game record.