FRISCO, Texas (SLC) - University of Central Arkansas senior Tyler Gray was named the Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year on Monday by the league office.
A senior from Fort Smith, Ark., Gray led a contingent of 10 Bears to receive All-SLC honors. Gray was a first-team All-SLC selection, along with junior catcher William Hancock. Senior third baseman Rigo Aguilar and junior left fielder Hunter Strong were second-team selections, while junior first baseman Tyler Smith was a third-team selection.
Aguilar, Smith and Hancock were all named to the SLC All-Defensive team, while senior shortstop Josh Somdecerff and senior designated hitter Colby LeBlanc were honorable mention All-SLC selections. UCA, Northwestern State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi lead the way with five all-conference picks each on the three teams.
Gray, a right-handed starting pitcher from Fort Smith Southside High School, had a record-setting senior season. Gray broke both the school single-game strikeout record with 15 against Abilene Christian University, and the career record of 269 that was held by Matt Whitaker. Gray (6-1) currently has 281, including 113 of those this season, which ranks second in the SLC. Batters are hitting just .211 against him in his team-high 92.2 innings pitched.
Gray, who has a 2.91 earned-run average, is UCA's first player to earn SLC Pitcher of the Year honors.
Hancock, a junior from Little Rock, Ark., leads the SLC in baserunners thrown out with 31. He is hitting .286 with 46 hits, 5 home runs and 26 runs scored in 47 games.
Aguilar, a senior third baseman from El Paso, Texas, has started 51 of 53 games played this season and is UCA's second-leading hitter with a .325 batting average. Aguilar has 64 hits, 37 RBI, 40 runs scored and 3 stolen bases. He has 16 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI games and reached base in 17 consecutive games earlier in the season.
Strong, a junior left fielder from Sheridan, Ark., is the Bears' leading hitter with a .344 average, which ranks seventh in the SLC. He is also third in in the conference in hits (77), tied for fourth in runs scored (50), third in doubles (19), seventh in slugging percentage (.531) and fifth in total bases (119). He had a team-high 28-game reached base streak earlier this season. He was named the SLC Hitter of the Week on March 26.
Smith, a junior transfer from Alvin Community College and Deer Park, Texas, is hitting .295 with 59 hits, 49 RBI, 6 home runs and 16 doubles in his first season as UCA's first baseman. His 44 walks is a team high and leads the Southland and he is 12th in on-base percentage (.433). He also has a team-high 11 games with multi RBI and has reached base in 21 consecutive games heading into this week's SLC Tournament.
Somdecerff, a senior shortstop from Tulsa, Okla., and Connors State Community College, is hitting .290 with a team-high eight home runs (tied for 10th in the league). He has 54 hits, 41 runs scored and 36 RBI. Somdecerff is tied for second on the team in multi-hit games with 16. He had a 15-game hitting streak and a 26-game reached base streak this season.
LeBlanc, a senior designated hitter from Silsbee, Texas and Northeast Oklahoma A&M, is third in the team in hitting at .323, wiht 31 hits, 14 RBI and 13 runs scored in 33 games.
UCA led the way on the All-Defensive Team with three selections, including Smith has a .996 fielding percentage at first base, while Aguilar sits at .958 at third base and Hancock at .992 behind the plate.
The Bears (32-23, 17-13) qualified for their seventh consecutive Southland Conference Tournament and will open play at 7 p.m. Wednesday night against Houston Baptist at Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Texas. UCA, the fifth seed, and HBU, the fourth seed, met in the tournament opener a year ago, with UCA winning 15-4.
The All-Southland 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. To receive honorable mention, a player must appear on 25 percent of ballots.
SLC INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
Player of the Year: David Fry, Northwestern State
Freshman of the Year: Ridge Rogers, UIW
Newcomer of the Year: Jerry Maddox, Northwestern State
Hitter of the Year: Matt Heck, Houston Baptist
Pitcher of the Year: Tyler Gray, Central Arkansas
Relief Pitcher of the Year: Dakota Mills, Sam Houston State
Clay Gould Coach of the Year: Bobby Barbier, Northwestern State
2018 All-Southland Conference First Team
|
Pos. |
Name School Cl. Hometown | ||
|
1B David Fry4 Northwestern State Sr. Colleyville, Texas 2B Kyle Bergeron UIW So. Bridge City, Texas 3B Owen Magee New Orleans Sr. Metairie, La. SS Andrew Fregia2 Sam Houston State Jr. Liberty, Texas C William Hancock Central Arkansas Jr Little Rock, Ark. DH Dalon Farkas Abilene Christian Jr. Milton, Ga. OF Matt Heck Houston Baptist Sr. Midlothian, Texas OF Drew Avans2 Southeastern Louisiana Sr. Alabaster, Ala. OF Spencer Halloran Houston Baptist Sr. Sheffield, Iowa P Tyler Gray Central Arkansas Sr. Fort Smith, Ark. P Bryan Warzek2 New Orleans Jr. Clifton Park, N.Y. P Matthew McCollough Houston Baptist Sr. Katy, Texas U Jackson Owens Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Sr. Corinth, Texas |
2018 All-Southland Conference Second Team
Pos.
Name
School
Cl.
Hometown
1B
Harrison Dinicola
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Jr.
Kemah, Texas
2B
Cody Grosse
Southeastern Louisiana
Jr.
Plainfield, Ill.
3B
Rigo Aguilar
Central Arkansas
Sr.
El Paso, Texas
SS
Joey Morales
Nicholls
Sr.
Fort Myers, Fla.
C
Beau Bratton
New Orleans
So.
Biloxi, Miss.
DH
Jackson Owens
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Sr.
Corinth, Texas
OF
Hunter Strong2
Central Arkansas
Jr.
Sheridan, Ark.
OF
Eddy Gonzalez
UIW
Jr.
Laredo, Texas
OF
Itchy Burts
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
So.
League City, Texas
P
Carlisle Koestler
Southeastern Louisiana
Jr.
Vicksburg, Miss.
P
Jerry Maddox
Northwestern State
Jr.
Dayton, Texas
P
Dakota Mills
Sam Houston State
Sr.
Meadows Place, Texas
U
Cole Coker
Lamar
So.
Huffman, Texas
2018 All-Southland Conference Third Team
Pos.
Name
School
Cl.
Hometown
1B
Tyler Smith
Central Arkansas
Jr.
Deer Park, Texas
2B
Joe Provenzano3
McNeese
Sr.
Downers Grove, Ill.
3B
Jake Georgiades
Stephen F. Austin
Jr.
College Station, Texas
SS
Tyler Depreta-Johnson2
Houston Baptist
Sr.
Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.
C
Drake Osborn
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
So.
Sandia, Texas
DH
J.P. Lagreco
Northwestern State
Jr.
Pearl River, La.
OF
Chet Niehaus
Nicholls
Sr.
Hammond, La.
OF
Hunter Hearn
Sam Houston State
Jr.
Crosby, Texas
OF
Kwan Adkins
Northwestern State
Sr.
Brusly, La.
P
Corey Gaconi2
Southeastern Louisiana
Jr.
Metairie, La.
P
Ridge Heisler
Northwestern State
Jr.
Mangham, La.
P
Hayden Wesneski
Sam Houston State
So.
Cypress, Texas
U
Derek Scott
Abilene Christian
Jr.
Abilene, Texas
2018 Southland Conference All-Defensive Team
Pos.
Name
School
Cl.
Hometown
1B
Tyler Smith
Central Arkansas
Jr.
Deer Park, Texas
2B
Ethan Valdez
Nicholls
Jr.
San Antonio, Texas
3B
Rigo Aguilar
Central Arkansas
Sr.
El Paso, Texas
SS
Tyler Depreta-Johnson
Houston Baptist
Sr.
Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.
C
William Hancock
Central Arkansas
Jr.
Little Rock, Ark.
LF
Shane Selman
McNeese
Jr.
Lake Charles, La.
CF
Chet Niehaus
Nicholls
Sr.
Hammond, La.
RF
Nick Anderson
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Jr.
Sugar Land, Texas
P
Ridge Heisler
Northwestern State
Jr.
Mangham, La.
Honorable Mention: 1B: Blake Chisolm, Sam Houston State. 3B: Enrique Sanchez Jr., Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. SS: Josh Somdecerff, Central Arkansas. C: Dustin Duhon, McNeese; Kyle Knauth, Nicholls. DH: Colby Leblanc, Central Arkansas; Logan LeJeune, Lamar. OF: Clayton Harp, Sam Houston State; Matt Munoz, Abilene Christian; Ridge Rogers, UIW. P: Ryan Erickson, Lamar; John Barr, New Orleans; Josh Green, Southeastern Louisiana; Seth Ballew, Sam Houston State. U: Collin Morrill, New Orleans; Josh Campbell, Stephen F. Austin.
2 Two-time all-conference selection
3 Three-time all-conference selection
