After finishing the regular season at 36-18 overall and 20-10 in league play, the Sun Belt announced Texas State received two specialty awards and four all-conference nods on Monday.
Senior right hander Connor Reich was named the Community Coffee Pitcher of the Year and earned a spot on the All-Sun Belt First Team. Reich led the league in wins with an 8-1 record and was top-10 in the conference with a 3.96 ERA. The Hallesville native is the first Bobcat to take Pitcher of the Year honors since Travis Ballew did so in the Southland Conference in 2012.
Jaxon Williams was also selected to the first team. The Howard College transfer made an immediate impact in his first season at Texas State, starting in 52 games. The junior second baseman ranked 10th in the Sun Belt with a .432 on-base percentage and fifth in runs with 54. Williams’ .322 batting average was tied for third-best on the team.
Junior righty Nicholas Fraze and redshirt senior third baseman Jaylen Hubbard each received spots on the All-Sun Belt Second Team. Fraze ended the year at 6-3 with a 4.38 ERA and was No. 7 in the league with 79 strikeouts. Hubbard batted .322 this year and led the team, among qualified players, with a .558 slugging percentage. It’s the Sugar Land Dulles graduate’s second time on the second team, his first appearance coming in 2017.
Head coach Ty Harrington took home the Community Coffee Ron Maestri Coach of the Year laurel, the third of his career and first since joining the Sun Belt. Harrington led the Bobcats to the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and helped the team win its first regular season championship since 2011.
Texas State will head to Conway, South Carolina, for the Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship this week. They’ll take on the lowest seed among No. 8 Louisiana, No. 9 Appalachian State and No. 10 Louisiana-Monroe, depending on who advances, on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
2019 Sun Belt Softball Postseason Honors
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
