McNeese’s Payton Harden crowned Southland Baseball Player of the Year

Cowboys lead with nine all-conference selections, four all-defensive honorees

FRISCO, Texas – McNeese’s Payton Harden is the 2022 Southland Conference Baseball Player of the Year, the league announced Monday along with the all-conference teams.

A catalyst from the No. 2 spot in the lineup, Harden led the Cowboys in batting average (.348) and ranked among the top-10 in the league in hits (31) and RBI (22) against conference opponents. He registered 10 multi-hit performances in 22 Southland games, including a career-high five hits against HBU on the final weekend. Harden hit 8-of-14 from the plate with 10 RBI to power McNeese to a sweep of the Huskies and secure the program’s fifth conference title.

New Orleans outfielder Pearce Howard earns Hitter of the Year recognition after pacing the league with 39 hits and tallying the second-most RBI (32) in conference action. A three-time Southland Hitter of the Week, he recorded a team-high 22 two-out RBI on the year. Howard amassed eight three-hit performances in league play, including a series victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in which he finished 11-of-15 at the plate with 11 RBI across the three contests.

Grant Rogers becomes the second-consecutive McNeese hurler to garner Pitcher of the Year honors after finishing in the top-five in opposing batting average (.203), innings pitched (46.2) and wins (four) against conference foes. He finished the league slate 4-2 with a 3.86 ERA and a team-high 37 strikeouts. In an April 1 road start at Nicholls, Rogers tossed seven scoreless frames with five punchouts and just two hits allowed.

When Rogers was done for the day, the ball was likely ending up in the hands of teammate Cameron Foster, who is this year’s Relief Pitcher of the Year after finishing as the league leader in ERA (2.61) in 13 appearances in conference play. The 6-foot-5 righty ranked second in opposing batting average (.192) and hits allowed (20) to league foes. Foster logged a pair of wins and three saves in Southland competition and tallied eight outings of at least two innings.

Making an immediate impact on the bump for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Zach Garcia takes home the Freshman of the Year title after going 3-2 in eight starts on the weekend rotation. In 40.2 innings of work, he racked up the third-most strikeouts (42) among Southland pitchers in conference action. Named to the all-league second team, Garcia notched three conference starts with seven strikeouts, including contests against top-two seeds McNeese and Southeastern.

An East Central CC transfer, New Orleans’ Amani Larry is the league’s Newcomer of the Year after posting top-five marks in on-base percentage (.487), OPS (1.087), runs (34), hits (35) and doubles (eight) in his first season with the Privateers. He has played a vital role in UNO’s No. 2 national ranking in double plays per game, accounting for 40 on the year. Larry closed out the regular season having reached base safely in 17-straight games and owns a nine-game hit streak heading into this weekend’s Southland Baseball Tournament.

Justin Hill is tabbed the 2022 Clay Gould Coach of the Year after leading McNeese to its fifth regular-season Southland Conference title and first since 2017. The Cowboys led the way in both slugging percentage (.491) and team ERA (4.39) in conference competition. After a series sweep at the hands of UNO dropped the Pokes to 3-6 in the Southland on April 10, he inspired the squad to respond with a 12-3 mark down the stretch with three series sweeps.

McNeese led the way with nine total all-conference nods, followed by New Orleans and Nicholls each with six. UIW and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi each landed five on the lists, and Northwestern State and Southeastern each accounted for four spots. HBU placed a trio of individuals on the teams.

For the second-straight season, McNeese led the league in all-defensive selections with four. Southeastern placed two on the squad, and representatives from UIW, Nicholls and Northwestern State rounded out the team.

The all-conference teams are nominated and voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors. Voting for oneself or one’s own athletes is not permitted.

Player of the Year: Payton Harden, McNeese

Hitter of the Year: Pearce Howard, New Orleans

Pitcher of the Year: Grant Rogers, McNeese

Relief Pitcher of the Year: Cameron Foster, McNeese

Freshman of the Year: Zach Garcia, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

Newcomer of the Year: Amani Larry, New Orleans

Clay Gould Coach of the Year: Justin Hill, McNeese

2022 All-Southland Conference First Team

Pos.	Name	School	Cl.	Hometown
1B	Preston Faulkner2	Southeastern	Gr.	Denham Springs, La.
2B	Amani Larry	New Orleans	So.	Bossier City, La.
3B	Josh Leslie	McNeese	R-Jr.	Kenosha, Wis.
SS	Grant Smith	UIW	Jr.	Albuquerque, N.M.
C	Bo Willis	Northwestern State	So.	Magnolia, Texas
DH	Tre Jones	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	So.	Houston, Texas
OF	Payton Harden2	McNeese	R-Jr.	Atascocita, Texas
OF	Pearce Howard2	New Orleans	Sr.	Silver Spring, Md.
OF	Brendan Ryan	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Jr.	Leawood, Kan.
SP	Johnathan Harmon	Northwestern State	So.	Hornbeck, La.
SP	Grant Rogers	McNeese	R-So.	Groves, Texas
SP	Tyler Theriot	Nicholls	Jr.	Brusly, La.
RP	Cameron Foster	McNeese	R-Sr.	Houston, Texas
U	Alec Carr	UIW	Jr.	Sugar Land, Texas

2022 All-Southland Conference Second Team

Pos.	Name	School	Cl.	Hometown
1B	Steven Rivera-Chijin	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Sr.	Toa Baja, Puerto Rico
2B	Brad Burckel	McNeese	R-Jr.	Lindale, Texas
3B	Roberto Gonzalez	UIW	Jr.	Houston, Texas
SS	Reid Bourque	McNeese	R-Sr.	Moss Bluff, La.
C	Bryce Grizzaffi	Southeastern	Jr.	Morgan City, La.
DH	Alec Paz	Nicholls	Gr.	Dallas, Texas
OF	Braden Duhon	McNeese	R-So.	Moss Bluff, La.
OF	Xane Washington	Nicholls	R-Jr.	Houma, La.
OF	Issac Williams	New Orleans	So.	Alexandria, La.
SP	Cal Carver2	Northwestern State	Jr.	San Antonio, Texas
SP	Zach Garcia	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Fr.	New Braunfels, Texas
SP	Will Kinzeler	Southeastern	So.	Covington, La.
RP	Andrew Reitmeyer	HBU	Sr.	Carlsbad, Calif.
U	Kade Morris	McNeese	R-Sr.	Alvin, Texas

2022 All-Southland Conference Third Team

Pos.	Name	School	Cl.	Hometown
1B	Edgar Alvarez	Nicholls	So.	Orlando, Fla.
2B	Daunte Stuart2	Northwestern State	So.	The Woodlands, Texas
3B	Kasten Furr2	New Orleans	So.	Ruston, La.
SS	Parker Coddou	Nicholls	So.	Thibodaux, La.
C	Miguel Useche	New Orleans	So.	Caracas, Venezuela
DH	Kade Hunter	McNeese	R-So.	Comfort, Texas
OF	Josh Caraway	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	So.	Roanoke, Texas
OF	Wilson Ehrhardt	UIW	Sr.	Katy, Texas
OF	Austin Roccaforte	HBU	Jr.	Tomball, Texas
SP	Devin Desandro	Nicholls	So.	Thibodaux, La.
SP	Michael Garza	UIW	Sr.	Corpus Christi, Texas
SP	Tyler LeBlanc	New Orleans	So.	Lafayette, La.
RP	Gage Trahan	Southeastern	Gr.	Maurice, La.
U	Jake Miller	HBU	Sr.	Round Rock, Texas

2022 Southland Conference All-Defensive Team

Pos.	Name	School	Cl.	Hometown
1B	Kade Morris	McNeese	R-Jr.	Alvin, Texas
2B	Brad Burckel	McNeese	R-Jr.	Lindale, Texas
3B	Shea Thomas	Southeastern	Jr.	Olympia, Wash.
SS	Reid Bourque	McNeese	R-Sr.	Moss Bluff, La.
C	Bryce Grizzaffi	Southeastern	Jr.	Morgan City, La.
LF	Jeffrey Elkins	Northwestern State	Jr.	Lafayette, La.
CF	Ridge Rogers	UIW	Sr.	Flower Mound, Texas
RF	Xane Washington	Nicholls	R-Jr.	Houma, La.
P	Grant Rogers	McNeese	R-So.	Groves, Texas

² Two-time all-conference selection