ATLANTA - Austin Peay earned three superlative recognitions while Central Arkansas and Stetson claimed one apiece to highlight the 2024 Atlantic Sun Conference Baseball postseason honors, announced Monday by the league office.
The Governor's Lyle Miller-Green earned APSU its first Player of the Year honor as he enters the postseason with a .395 batting average and a 5-1 record on the mound. The Burke, Va., native set ASUN Conference single-season records for home runs (29) and runs scored (93) this season. APSU's Jon Jon Gazdar committed only seven errors in 185 chances to earn the Defensive Player of the Year recognition. Gazdar had a hand in 21 of the Govs' 34 double plays this spring. Roland Fanning secured the Coach of the Year honor after leading Austin Peay to its first ASUN Regular Season Championship and the #1 seed in the postseason. APSU went 20-10 in league play and earned 20 victories at Raymond C. Hand Park in Clarksville.
ASUN Pitcher of the Year Jesse Barker leads the ASUN in strikeouts (110) and innings pitched (96.2). The graduate from Benton, Ark., is the first student-athlete from Central Arkansas to claim the distinction after holding opposing batters to a .174 average at the plate. Stetson's Kyle Jones was tabbed the ASUN Freshman of the Year after leading the Hatters in batting average, runs, doubles, stolen bases and on-base percentage. Jones drove in 29 runs while crossing the plate 46 times on the season and holds a .346 batting average entering postseason play.
Player of the Year: Lyle Miller-Green, Austin Peay
Defensive Player of the Year: Jon Jon Gazdar, Austin Peay
Pitcher of the Year: Jesse Barker, Central Arkansas
Freshman of the Year: Kyle Jones, Stetson
Coach of the Year: Roland Fanning, Austin Peay
First Team All-ASUN
SP Jesse Barker, Central Arkansas**
SP Davian Garcia, FGCU
SP Blake Aita, Kennesaw State
RP Bo Rhudy, Kennesaw State
C Nick Hassan, Kennesaw State
1B Casey Sorg, Bellarmine
2B Ambren Voitik, Austin Peay
3B Brody Szako, Austin Peay
SS Jon Jon Gazdar, Austin Peay
OF Lyle Miller-Green, Austin Peay**
OF Ron Franklin, EKU
OF Dillon Lewis, Queens
DH Ian Farrow, FGCU**
Second Team All-ASUN
SP Andrew Devine, Austin Peay
SP Richard Long, Jacksonville
SP Tony Roca, North Florida
RP Zane Coppersmith, Stetson
C Mac Moise, FGCU
1B Harrison Brown, Austin Peay
2B Yohann Dessureault, Stetson
3B Isaac Bouton, Kennesaw State
SS Trace Willhoite, Lipscomb**
OF John Bay, Austin Peay
OF Clayton Gray, Austin Peay**
OF Alex Vergara, Lipscomb**
DH Spencer Hanson, Kennesaw State**
Third Team All-ASUN
SP Braden Osbolt, Kennesaw State
SP Jacob James, North Alabama
SP Anthony DeFabbia, Stetson
RP Collin Witzke, Lipscomb
C Gus Freeman, Austin Peay
1B Robert Moya, FGCU
1B Mason Lundgrin, Lipscomb
2B Justin Nadeau, Jacksonville
3B Gehrig Frei, North Alabama
SS Jacob Lojewski, FGCU**
OF Will Aubel, Bellarmine
OF Zeb Allen, Central Arkansas
OF Kyle Jones, Stetson
DH Jaden Brown, Austin Peay
* denotes the number of career All-ASUN selections
Note - a tie in voting resulted in a 14-person All-ASUN Third Team
All-Freshman Team
^Kyle Jones, Stetson
Zeb Allen, Central Arkansas
Tait Nunnally, EKU
Charles Davalan, FGCU
Evan Dempsey, FGCU
Javier Gorostola, FGCU
Peyton Prescott, Jacksonville
Isaac Williams, Jacksonville
Shamaar McDuffie, Kennesaw State
Bo Rhudy, Kennesaw State
Jake Barbour, Queens
Zane Coppersmith, Stetson
Logan Hughes, Stetson
^ denotes a unanimous selection to the All-Freshman Team