Foster, Harden, Burckel named to ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Team

LAKE CHARLES – McNeese baseball relief pitcher Cameron Foster, second baseman Brad Burckel and center fielder Payton Harden have all been named to the 2022 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I South All-Region Team – Foster garnering first team accolades while Burckel and Harden were selected to the second team.

Foster, the 2022 Southland Conference Relief Pitcher of the Year and All-SLC First Team selection, led the league in six different categories including saves (12), ERA (1.86), strikeouts (84), batting average against (.164), hits allowed (35), runs allowed (17), and ranked second in the conference in walks allowed (20).

His 12 saves this season tied a single-season school record which has been held by Jordan LeGros and set in 2011. He ended his McNeese career ranked second all-time with 18 saves.

Harden was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year and earned All-SLC First Team honors. He became just the fifth Cowboy to earn the top honors from the league and the first since 1994 (Deron Hofstetter).

In 2022, Harden led the Southland in hitting (.378), total hits (85), triples (4) and stolen bases (26). His 85 base-hits ranked tied as the second-most in a single season in school history while his 252 career hits are two away from matching the school’s all-time mark of 254 (Joe Provenzano, 2015-18).

In his first season as a Cowboy, Burckel played a big part in helping the Cowboys capture the conference regular season championship and earned All-SLC Second Team honors in the process.

For the season, Burckel ranked No. 2 in the league in hitting (.373) and total hits (81), and was third in slugging percentage (.618), OPS (1.077), runs scored (62), and triples (3). He also tied for the team lead with 10 home runs and with 44 runs batted in.

The teams are voted on by members of the American Baseball Coaches Association and the process is led by the ABCA NCAA Division I All-America Committee. ABCA/Rawlings All-Region First Team selections are nominated for ABCA/Rawlings All-America honors. The ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I All-America Teams will be announced this Friday morning prior to the start of the 2022 NCAA Division I College World Series.

The finalists for the ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Div. I Gold Glove Team will be announced via the Rawlings Sporting Goods Twitter on Monday, June 20, and the Gold Glove winners in all divisions will be announced on Wednesday, June 22. In all divisions, ABCA/Rawlings National Pitchers and Position Players of the Year will be announced on Monday, June 27.

2022 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I South All-Region Teams 

NCAA Division I South All-Region First Team 

NCAA Division I South All-Region First Team