CONWAY, Ark. _ The University of Central Arkansas placed three players on the 2015 All-Southland Conference preseason baseball teams it was announced Thursday.

    Senior first baseman/third baseman Nate Ferrell, junior second baseman Chris Townsend and junior pitcher Conner Gilmore were all named second-team All-SLC. 

    Ferrell, from Griffin, Ga., was UCA's second-leading hitter at .309 last season, with 31 runs batted in and 11 doubles and was named to the SLC All-Tournament team after helping lead the Bears to the championship game for the second straight year. He started 48 of the 49 games in which he played and had a slugging percentage of .371 and an on-base percentage of .402.

    Townsend, also an All-SLC Tournament selection, hit .281 in 54 games (50 starts) at second base. He had eight doubles, two triples and a home run along with 41 RBI and 45 runs scored. Townsend is from Batesville, Miss. 

    Gilmore, a righthander from Little Rock Catholic, had a team-best 7-3 record last season with a 2.98 earned-run average. He threw four complete games in 14 starts, including a complete-game victory over McNeese State in the SLC Tournament. Gilmore struck out 53 in 102.2 innings. 

    The Bears open the 2015 season in a tournament at Louisiana-Lafayette on Feb. 13, facing Grambling State, ULM and Indiana State. The home opener for the Bears is set for Tuesday, Feb. 17 against UALR. First pitch is 6 p.m. at Bear Stadium.