SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Nine members of the UNCG Baseball program earned All Southern Conference recognition for their efforts during the 2016 season. Link Jarrett earned SoCon Coach of the Year honors, and Andrew Wantz (Holly Springs, N.C./Holly Springs) earned Co-Pitcher of the Year honors in the media poll with Furman's Will Gaddis.
Other honorees include L.J. Kalawaia (Wailuku, Hawai'i/Ohlone College), Collin Woody (Tampa, Fla./College of Central Florida) and Wantz who earned First Team honors at outfield, third base, and relief pitcher, respectively in both polls. Dillon Stewart (Dunn, N.C./Brunswick CC) and Ben Spitznagel (Cincinnati, Ohio/Wabash Valley CC) earned Second Team honors in both polls at designated hitter, and second base, respectively.
UNCG placed three players on the coaches All-Freshman team. Cesar Trejo (Greensboro, N.C./Ragsdale), Andrew Moritz (Charlotte, N.C./Providence) and Matt Frisbee (Candler, N.C./Enka) were three of 12 freshmen who have earned SoCon All-Freshman honors.
The Spartans finished the 2016 season with a 37-19 regular season record, including a 15-9 SoCon record, tied for second. UNCG was picked to finish fifth in the preseason polls to start the season. The second place finish is the highest the Spartans have finished in the SoCon since 1998, with the 37 wins being the most since the 2003 season.
2016 SoCon Baseball Coaches All-Southern Conference Teams
Player of the Year – Kyle Lewis, Jr., OF, Mercer
Pitcher of the Year – Will Gaddis, So., RHP, Furman
Freshman of the Year – Jabari Richards, OF, Furman
Coach of the Year – Link Jarrett, UNCG
First team
SP Will Gaddis, Furman
SP Parker Curry, Samford
RP Andrew Wantz, UNCG
C Hagen Owenby, ETSU
1B Matt Smith, Western Carolina
2B Trey York, ETSU
SS Matt Meeder, Mercer
3B Collin Woody, UNCG
OF Kyle Lewis, Mercer
OF L.J. Kalawaia, UNCG
OF Heath Quinn, Samford
DH Austin Edens, Samford
Second team
SP Ryan Askew, Mercer
SP Matt Milburn, Wofford
RP Colton Davis, Western Carolina
C Danny Bermudez, Western Carolina
1B Alex Lee, Samford
2B Ben Spitznagel, UNCG
SS Derek Hirsch, Wofford
3B Blake Rowlett, ETSU
OF Trey Truitt, Mercer
OF Bryson Bowman, Western Carolina
OF Kramer Ferrell, Western Carolina
DH Dillon Stewart, UNCG
All-freshman team
Ben Peden, The Citadel
Jake Crawford, Furman
Jabari Richards, Furman
Conard Broom, Mercer
Kevin Coulter, Mercer
Matt Frisbee, UNCG
Andrew Moritz, UNCG
Cesar Trejo, UNCG
Stephen Jones, Samford
Matt Pita, VMI
Josh Winder, VMI
Andrew Bullock, Western Carolina
2016 SoCon Sports Media Association Baseball All-Conference Teams
Player of the Year – Kyle Lewis, Jr., OF, Mercer
Pitcher of the Year – Will Gaddis, So., RHP, Furman
Andrew Wantz, So., RHP, UNCG
Freshman of the Year – Jabari Richards, OF, Furman
Coach of the Year – Link Jarrett, UNCG
First team
SP Will Gaddis, Furman
SP Parker Curry, Samford
RP Andrew Wantz, UNCG
C Hagen Owenby, ETSU
1B Matt Smith, Western Carolina
2B Trey York, ETSU
SS Matt Meeder, Mercer
3B Collin Woody, UNCG
OF Kyle Lewis, Mercer
OF L.J. Kalawaia, UNCG
OF Heath Quinn, Samford
DH Austin Edens, Samford
Second team
SP Ryan Askew, Mercer
SP Matt Milburn, Wofford
RP Will Stillman, Wofford
C Danny Bermudez, Western Carolina
1B Collin Fleischer, VMI
2B Ben Spitznagel, UNCG
SS Robby McCabe, ETSU
3B Blake Rowlett, ETSU
OF Jabari Richards, Furman
OF Trey Truitt, Mercer
OF Bryson Bowman, Western Carolina
DH Dillon Stewart, UNCG
UNCG returns to action on Wednesday, May 25th as it plays the Samford Bulldogs at 7:30 p.m. at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C. for the first round of the SoCon tournament.
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