Sun Belt Conference announces end of season baseball honors

CONWAY, S.C. – South Alabama freshman infielder Ethan Wilson has been voted the Sun Belt Conference Baseball Community Coffee Player and Freshman of the Year by the league’s 12 head coaches, while Texas State’s Connor Reich was tabbed as the league’s Community Coffee Pitcher of the Year.

Coastal Carolina’s Jake Wright was voted as the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year and Bobcat skipper, Ty Harrington, was tabbed as the Ron Maestri Coach of the Year.

USA’s Wilson is the first freshman to capture Player of the Year honors in the Sun Belt and the first Jaguar to earn the honor since 2013. He is the sixth Jaguar in team history to earn Player of the Year honors. The previous five winners from South Alabama all went on to play professional baseball.

An Andalusia, Ala. native, Wilson led the team and was second overall in the league in hitting with a .344 average over 55 games. He had 74 hits on the season to lead USA, which was also second in the league, 17 home runs and 51 RBI. His 17 home runs were a new USA team record for a freshman and was second in the Sun Belt. He led the league in slugging (.693) and tied for first in runs scored (58).

Texas State’s Reich posted an 8-1 record this year with one complete game. His win total (8) led the Sun Belt and was the most by a Texas State pitcher since 2014. Reich tied for fourth in innings pitched (86.1) and was fifth in strikeouts with 86. He started 14 of the 15 games he appeared in and allowed just 38 runs for an ERA of 3.96.

CCU’s Wright led the Chanticleers with a .340 average this season, which rose to .396 during league play. He led the league in on-base percentage (.513) and was ranked in the top 8 in both batting average, slugging percentage, walks and hits by pitch. Wright registered a season-high nine-game hitting streak and reached base safely in 20-straight games.

Texas State’s Harrington earned his first Sun Belt Coach of the Year honor after leading the Bobcats to a 36-18 overall record with a 20-10 Sun Belt mark and its first West Division and outright regular season title. The 20 conference wins for TXST was a program best since joining the Sun Belt. The Bobcats ranked in the top five in 11 offensive categories this regular season. They were second in runs batted in (338), third in slugging (.441) and fifth in hitting (.281). Texas State was also second in team ERA (4.67) and allowed a league best .258 average.

Coastal Carolina and Troy led the league with five total All-Conference selections. Texas State was second with four and Louisiana and Georgia Southern tied for third with three overall selections.

The tournament begins on Tuesday with single-elimination games between No. 7 South Alabama (30-25, 16-14) and No. 10 ULM (24-29, 12-17) at 3:00 p.m. ET. In Tuesday night’s finale, No. 8 Louisiana (27-29, 15-15) takes on No. 9 Appalachian State (22-30, 13-16) at 6:30 p.m. ET.

All games of the Championship will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

All-Sun Belt Baseball First Team
Seth Shuman, Georgia Southern (Junior, SP)
Chandler Fidel, Little Rock (Junior, SP)
Connor Reich, Texas State (Senior, SP)
Zach Greene, South Alabama (Senior, RP)
Chase Smartt, Troy (Senior, C)
Zach Biermann, Coastal Carolina (Senior, 1B)
Jaxon Williams, Texas State (Junior, 2B)
Hayden Cantrelle, Louisiana (Sophomore, SS)
Chad Bell, ULM (Senior, 3B)
Parker Chavers, Coastal Carolina (Sophomore, OF)
Mason McWhorter, Georgia Southern (Junior, OF)
Ethan Wilson, South Alabama (Freshman, OF)
Riley Pittman, Little Rock (Senior, DH)
Todd Lott, Louisiana (Junior, Utility)

All-Sun Belt Baseball Second Team
Hunter Gaddis, Georgia State (Junior, SP)
Nicholas Fraze, Texas State (Junior, SP)
Cory Gill, Troy (Junior, SP)
Andrew Gross, UT Arlington (Senior, RP)
Kyle Skeels, Coastal Carolina (Junior, C)
Sadler Goodwin, Troy (Senior, 1B)
Steven Curry, Georgia Southern (Junior, 2B)
Drew Frederic, Troy (Junior, SS)
Jaylen Hubbard, Texas State (Senior, 3B)
Kieton Rivers, Coastal Carolina (Senior, OF)
Orynn Veillon, Louisiana (Senior, OF)
Rigsby Mosley, Troy (Sophomore, OF)
Jake Wright, Coastal Carolina (Sophomore, DH)
Andrew Beesley, ULM (Junior, Utility)

Community Coffee Player of the Year
Ethan Wilson, South Alabama (Freshman, OF)

Community Coffee Pitcher of the Year
Connor Reich, Texas State (Senior, RHP)

Community Coffee Freshman of the Year
Ethan Wilson, South Alabama (Freshman, OF)

Community Coffee Newcomer of the Year
Jake Wright, Coastal Carolina (Sophomore, OF)

Community Coffee Ron Maestri Coach of the Year
Ty Harrington, Texas State