ATLANTA – With another season of ASUN Conference Baseball in the books, we take a look back at the highlights and accomplishments from the 14 league squads following the 2023 campaign. Lipscomb won both the regular season and postseason titles after claiming the ASUN Championship as the top seed against #2 FGCU, 12-6, in DeLand, Fla., to earn the program's third league banner and first since 2015.
With the victory over the Eagles, the Bisons completed the ASUN sweep and secured the automatic berth in the 2023 NCAA Baseball Championship as the representative from the conference. Alex Vergara tied a Championship Final record of three home runs as top-seeded Lipscomb out-homered FGCU at Melching Field at Conrad Park. The team started pool play 0-2 and fought its way back to the crown, the same feat Kennesaw State accomplished in 2022.
The Bisons continued postseason play in the Clemson Regional as their 2023 journey on the diamond continued. Lipscomb was joined in the regional by Conference USA's Charlotte, Tennessee out of the SEC and the ACC's Tigers. The ASUN Champions played tough against the opposition and finished the season at 36-26.
FGCU's Edrick Felix highlighted the superlative awards as the ASUN Player of the Year. He was joined by Defensive Player of the Year Logan Thomason of EKU, Pitcher of the Year Logan Van Treeck of Lipscomb and Freshman of the Year Evan Chrest from Jacksonville. The Bisons' Head Coach Jeff Forehand rounded out the honors by being named ASUN Coach of the Year for the second-straight season.
TEAM NOTES
Austin Peay (26-32, 15-15 ASUN)
Twitter: @GovsBSB
- The Governors laid a strong foundation in their initial ASUN campaign with a 26-32 record and a .500 mark in league play (15-15); they were able to earn the eighth seed in the ASUN Championship in DeLand, Fla.
- Austin Peay's Jon Jon Gazdar heard his name called for the 2023 ASUN Conference Baseball All-Academic Team after he sported a 4.00 GPA while majoring in General Studies/Organizational Administration
- The postseason awards didn't stop there for the Govs, either, as Garrett Martin and Lyle Miller-Green were both voted to the ASUN Second Team All-Conference list; Clayton Gray was tabbed Third Team All-Conference
Bellarmine (13-42, 8-22 ASUN)
Twitter: @BUKnightsBSB
- The Knights secured 13 wins on the diamond under first-year Head Coach Chris Dominguez in 2023, eight of which came against ASUN competition; they seemed to like playing spoiler on the road, winning 10 games
- Bellarmine jumped onto the baseball scene with a road series sweep of New Mexico State to start the season 4-0 after taking down Southern Indiana, 4-2; BU opened ASUN play with a series win at EKU, 2-1
- The club would continue to battle each time out and took a home series against ASUN Championship host Stetson in early April; the Knights put a bow on their schedule with a 13-6 positive outcome on the road at Liberty
Central Arkansas (23-31, 14-16 ASUN)
Twitter: @UCABearBaseball
- The Bears put together a run for the postseason but came up just short of the league's championship field following a 23-31 (14-16 ASUN) slate of games in 2023; Jesse Barker was the star of the show on the mound all season
- The Benton, Ark., native had a dominant campaign en route to being placed on the ASUN First Team All-Conference list; off the rubber, the junior was also selected as the ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year with a 4.00 GPA
- Barker paced the ASUN in strikeouts (109), tied for second in wins (7), was fourth in ERA (3.00) and had three complete games; teammate Kolby Johnson also made the All-Academic Team after making a return appearance
EKU (29-30, 15-15 ASUN)
Twitter: @EKUBaseball
- The Colonels were back in the postseason for the second-straight year in the ASUN after a .500 stretch against league opposition (15-15); they played their way to the sixth seed in the ASUN Championship in Deland, Fla.
- EKU had a pair of players earn their way onto All-Conference in 2023, highlighted by the Defensive Player of the Year in Logan Thomason (First Team); he was joined on the list by ASUN Second Team member Will King
- Thomason finished the latest campaign with a .296 average, 14 home runs and 45 RBIs to go along with his 155 assists and 42 double plays on defense; Chase Alderman was also named to the ASUN All-Freshman Team
FGCU (42-18, 20-10 ASUN)
Twitter: @FGCU_Baseball
- The Eagles put together one of the best offenses in the nation last season en route to the second seed in the ASUN Championship and a birth in the league's postseason finale; they finished the year at 42-18 and 20-10 in the ASUN
- FGCU's Edrick Felix highlighted the superlative awards as the ASUN Player of the Year, becoming the fourth student-athlete in school history for the Eagles to earn the honor (Nick Rivera; 2017); four Eagles made First Team All-Conference
- Additionally, Harrison Povey was tabbed Second Team All-Conference, while four other teammates made Third Team All-Conference; the Eagles' 142 home runs has them sandwiched between College World Series Finalists LSU and Florida for most in the nation
Jacksonville (34-24, 17-13 ASUN)
Twitter: @JUBaseball
- The Dolphins were one of the most well-rounded clubs in ASUN Baseball this past season as they notched 17 wins in league play (34-24 overall) and were the fourth seed in the ASUN Championship; they earned an 8-0 win over Liberty in the postseason
- Jacksonville's Evan Chrest was the ace of the pitching staff as he played his way to Freshman of the Year accolades in 2023; he is the fourth Freshman of the Year for the Dolphins in team history and the first since Michael Baumann back in 2015
- Chrest was a Friday night starter for JAX as a true freshman, leading the ASUN with a 2.68 ERA (among starters); he set the program record as a freshman with 98 strikeouts (third in the league) and also won eight games to lead the squad on the mound
Jacksonville State (27-30, 18-12 ASUN)
Twitter: @JaxStateBB
- The Gamecocks made another showing in the ASUN Championship down in the Sunshine State this year following a near 30-win campaign on the diamond (27-30); they went toe-to-toe with FGCU in the semifinal round in an offensive slugfest (14-10)
- Jax State had a flurry of names on the ASUN All-Conference squads, led by T.J. Reeves being awarded a first-team mention; Reeves was stellar at the plate in 2023 as he finished the year with a .336 batting average and was third in the ASUN in RBIs at 75
- AJ Causey, Javon Hernandez and Mason Maners found their names on the Second Team All-Conference grouping; Eli Zielinski, who earned multiple Freshman All-America honors, was Third Team All-Conference and another pair of Gamecocks made the All-Freshman Team
Kennesaw State (25-29, 14-16 ASUN)
Twitter: @KSUOwlsBaseball
- The Owls, the 2022 ASUN Champions, stumbled down the stretch of the regular season and came up short of having an opportunity to defend their crown in the league's postseason; they finished the year with a record of 25-29 and 14-16 against league foes
- Spencer Hanson (ASUN Third Team All-Conference) and Jamarie Brooks (All-Freshman Team) were recognized by the league's coaches for postseason honors; Hanson put a bow on the season by finishing third in the conference in batting average with a .369
- The Kennesaw State designated hitter crossed the finish line of the year in second place in slugging percentage in the ASUN with a .725 as well; Brooks played outfield while batting .300 with three home runs and 25 RBIs to go with scoring 17 runs on the year
Liberty (27-31, 16-14 ASUN)
Twitter: @LibertyBaseball
- The Flames made another run to the ASUN Championship Semifinals and did so playing the most daunting schedule in the league and one of the toughest slates of games in the country; they ended 2023 as the three seed and a record of 27-31
- Garrett Horn made a return visit to the ASUN All-Conference squad as he received a second-team nod as a starting pitcher; Brayden Horton (Third Team All-Conference) also found his name on the All-Freshman Team along with Kane Kepley
- John Simmons was selected to the 2023 ASUN Championship All-Tournament Team after coming alive at the plate during the postseason; off the field, Gray Betts netted a three-time selection to the All-Academic Team with a 3.96 GPA in Christian Ministry
Lipscomb (36-26, 23-7 ASUN)
Twitter: @BisonBaseball
- The Bisons completed the ASUN sweep as both the regular and postseason champions for the 2023 campaign after Alex Vergara tied a Championship Final record of three home runs as top-seeded Lipscomb out-homered #2 FGCU, 12-6
- Lipscomb, who secured the automatic berth in the 2023 NCAA Baseball Championship as the representative of the ASUN, claimed the program's third league banner and first since 2015; the team started pool play 0-2 and fought its way back to the crown
- Pitcher of the Year went to Logan Van Treeck and Bisons' Head Coach Jeff Forehand rounded out the honors by being named ASUN Coach of the Year for the second-straight season; Austin Kelly joined Van Treeck on the ASUN First Team All-Conference squad
North Alabama (14-37, 8-22 ASUN)
Twitter: @UNABaseball
- The Lions played a key role in shaping the ASUN postseason field after they claimed five of their last six games of the season with series wins over Kennesaw State and Austin Peay; they were able to take all three contests against the Owls in Georgia
- North Alabama came just short of ending 2023 with a pair of sweeps as it dropped the regular-season finale to the Governors; UNA wrapped up the initial year under Head Coach Jad Prachniak with an overall mark of 14-37 and an 8-22 record in the ASUN
- The brightest star in the lineup for the Lions was shortstop Gehrig Frei, who got placed on the ASUN All-Freshman Team; the Alpharetta, Ga., native played in all 51 outings and accumulated a .293 batting average to go with seven homers and 31 RBIs
North Florida (28-27, 13-17 ASUN)
Twitter: @OspreyBSB
- The Ospreys were in the running for a spot in the league's postseason heading into the final series of the regular season against Jacksonville, but ultimately fell short of their mission in the River City Rumble; the club ended the year just above .500 at 28-27
- North Florida secured a pair of spots on the ASUN First Team All-Conference list in the form of Alex Lodise (also All-Freshman Team) and Austin Brinling; the team's dynamic duo was also joined by Third Team members Dominick Madonna and Aidan Sweatt
- Lodise was one of six freshman shortstops across all of Division I to be named to the Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American Team; of the six selections, he paced the position in home runs and RBIs, hitting 16 while driving in 63, both good for team bests
Queens (17-38, 9-21 ASUN)
Twitter: @Queens_Baseball
- The Royals completed their first season in Division I Baseball and as a member of the ASUN Conference with 17 victories on the diamond, with nine of them coming against league foes; the group made some strides in the final two weeks winning four of five
- Queens was paced offensively by first baseman Riley Cheek, who was voted to the ASUN Second Team All-Conference list by the league's head coaches; the senior from Shelby, N.C., shined off the field as well, earning ASUN Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors
- The off-the-field acknowledgments weren't done there, as the Royal duo of Nick Brassington (Third Team) and Cheek (Third Team) were recognized by the 2023 Academic All-America® Baseball Teams revealed by the College Sports Communicators
Stetson (35-23, 20-10 ASUN)
Twitter:@StetsonBaseball
- The Hatters had a favorable season in 2023 after putting together a 35-23 record on the year along with a 20-10 cumulative total in ASUN games; they hosted the ASUN Championship and won a pair of contests in the event from Pool B as the fifth seed
- Stetson's Austin Amaral (ASUN Second Team All-Conference) and Lorenzo Meola (Third Team, All-Freshman Team) were key cogs in the team's success on the diamond; Meola was paired up with two other All-Freshman selections - Landon Moran and Jayden Hylton
- Head Coach Steve Trimper was able to earn his 200th career win in the dugout with the Hatters following their triumph over #8 Austin Peay to wrap up the season, 12-3, in front of the home fans; the victory upped Stetson's all-time postseason record to 60-53