ALBANY, Ga. (May 2, 2018) – The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) has announced its 2018 baseball all-conference awards, as voted on by the league’s coaches and sports information directors. Miles’ Xavius Burden was selected as the 2018 SIAC Player of the Year alongside teammate, Jacob Bisharat who has been named 2018 SIAC Freshman of the Year. Miles’ Dylan Johnson was named 2018 SIAC Starting Pitcher of the Year, while Spring Hill’s Rob Ewald has been named 2018 SIAC Relief Pitcher of the Year. Miles’ Reeves Brashear has been named the 2018 Utility Player of the Year alongside head coach, Ty Roberts, who was selected as the 2018 SIAC Coach of the Year.
Burden, SIAC’s 2017 Tournament MVP, came back dominant this year as he hit a .353 clip on the season and led his team to an almost perfect conference record. The Troy, Ala. native knocked 35 runs on the season while completing four homers. He also was a top pick for the Golden Bears in multiple categories including runners batted in (38) and walks (12).
Bisharat earned top freshman league honors along with Second Team all-conference recognition. The Pleasant Grove native led the Golden Bears in batting average and was ninth in the league as he managed to hit .365 on the season, including 11 doubles and 36 runs driven in. The rookie started in 45 of the 47 games for the Golden Bears, who finished the season in first place in the SIAC standings. Bisharat also led the Golden Bears with a .984 fielding percentage which included in 305 putouts on the season.
Johnson earns the top pitcher honor in the league, capping off a regular season where he was second in the conference in pitching after finishing with a 2.79 ERA. The redshirt senior started in 12 games this year for the Golden Bears finishing the season 9-3 in conference while adding an additional three wins against non-conference opponents. Johnson managed 68 strikeouts for a fifth place conference finish in his 14 total appearances on the mound.
Spring Hill’s Rob Ewald, a graduate student from St. Louis, was selected as SIAC’s Relief Pitcher of the Year after finishing his final season with the Badgers. Ewald finished the season with a 3.63 ERA and 23 strikeouts. SHC’s right-hander finished with seven saves in his 18 appearances this season, which is more saves than anyone in the conference.
Brashear earned a top league honor and a first team all-conference spot after leading the Golden Bears with 45 runs scored for a fifth place finish in conference and 44 RBIs for a third place conference finish. The Childersburg native hit eight home runs and leads the team with a .584 slugging percentage on the season. Brashear split his time between designated hitter and third base for Miles as he led the conference in total plate appearances while averaging .342, including 15 doubles.
Miles’ head coach, Matthew “Ty” Roberts, a recent graduate and former team assistant, has completed his second season as head coach of the Golden Bears after winning the 2017 SIAC Baseball Championship and getting a chance to compete in the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament. Coach Roberts led the Golden Bears to a 19-1 conference record landing Miles a first-place finish in the western division while capturing the Coach of the Year title for his second consecutive year.
The 2018 SIAC Baseball Championship is scheduled for May 3-6 in Albany, Ga. For more information,
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2018 SIAC BASEBALL ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
Player of the Year: Xavius Burden, Miles
Freshman of the Year: Jacob Bisharat, Miles
Utility Player of the Year: Reeves Brashear, Miles
Starting Pitcher of the Year: Dylan Johnson, Miles
Relief Pitcher of the Year: Rob Ewald, Spring Hill
Coach of the Year: Matthew “Ty” Roberts, Miles
2018 SIAC Baseball First Team
| POS. |
NAME |
SCHOOL |
YEAR |
HOMETOWN |
| SP |
Dylan Johnson |
Miles |
Junior |
Oxford, Alabama |
| C |
Brennan Fontenot |
Spring Hill |
Junior |
Greenwell Spring, Louisiana |
| 1B |
Tyler Morris |
Albany State |
Senior |
Middleburg, Florida |
| 2B |
Trevor Bates |
Miles |
Senior |
Childersburg, Alabama |
| SS |
Armando Valentin |
Benedict |
Senior |
Homigueros, Puerto Rico |
| 3B |
Xavius Burden |
Miles |
Senior |
Troy, Alabama |
| OF |
Darrell Langston |
Claflin |
Senior |
Chicago, Illinois |
| OF |
Riliani Familia |
Albany State |
Senior |
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic |
| OF |
Cameron Starks |
Kentucky State |
Junior |
Alpharetta, Georgia |
| UT |
Reeves Brashear |
Miles |
Senior |
Childersburg, Alabama |
2018 SIAC Baseball Second Team
| POS. |
NAME |
SCHOOL |
YEAR |
HOMETOWN |
| SP |
Cleveland Westbrook |
Claflin |
Junior |
Miami, Florida |
| C |
Jaron Johnson |
Paine |
Senior |
Chicago, Illinois |
| 1B |
Jacob Bisharat |
Miles |
Freshman |
Pleasant Grove, Alabama |
| 2B |
Johnathan Parnell, II |
Claflin |
Senior |
Darlington, South Carolina |
| SS |
Grayland Fowler |
Claflin |
Junior |
Spartanburg, South Carolina |
| 3B |
Christian Griffith |
Morehouse |
Senior |
Lithonia, Georgia |
| OF |
Ryan Bargery |
Miles |
Senior |
Memphis, Tennessee |
| OF |
Grayson Williams |
Spring Hill |
Freshman |
Mobile, Alabama |
| OF |
Luke Wall |
Spring Hill |
Junior |
Mobile, Alabama |
| UT |
Johnathan Parnell, II |
Claflin |
Senior |
Darlington, South Carolina |