ALBANY, Ga. (May 4, 2023) – The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) has announced its 2023 baseball all-conference awards, as voted on by the league's coaches and sports information directors.
Kentucky State's
Joseph Esparza headlines the all-conference team after being selected as the 2023 SIAC
Player of the Year alongside Albany State’s
Luke Addison, who was named
Utility Player of the Year. Savannah State’s
Enrico Peele who was named 2023
Starting Pitcher of the Year.
Miles’
Logan Watts earned this year's
Relief Pitcher of the Year honor and his teammate,
Trey Rutledge was selected as the 2023 SIAC
Freshman of the Year.
Spring Hill’s head coach,
Walker Bullington, has been named 2023 SIAC Baseball
Coach of the Year.
Esparza, a native of San Diego, CA, was a leader for the Breds and finished the regular season with a .437 batting average and .915 slugging percentage. In 39 games this season, he finished with 62 hits, 46 runs, and 16 doubles. The junior first baseman leads the conference in home runs (16), averaging .41 per game, good for Top 20 in Division II. Esparza completed the regular season with a .528 on-base percentage and collected 67 RBI this season.
In his first year with the Golden Rams, Addison has been named Utility Player of the Year. The Georgia native finished the regular season with 50 hits, 39 runs, 35 RBI, four home runs, and a .431 batting average.
Peele, an All-SIAC Preseason First Teamer, has emerged as one of the best right-handers on a staff of aces in his senior season. Peele is 11-1 overall this year after 12 appearances and 12 starts. He is ranked in the conference and NCAA Division II in victories. Peele has 2.23 ERA this season with a 1.19 WHIP. In 64.2 innings of work, he's recorded 59 strikeouts, 20 walks as batters have hit only .234 against him. In addition, Peele earned SIAC Player of the Week awards twice this year for his performances.
All but one of Watts' appearances have come out of the bullpen. He is 2-0 with three saves and a 2.23 ERA. Against conference opponents, his ERA drops to 2.05. He only allowed eight walks to the 122 batters he faced and did not give up a home run all season in 32.1 innings pitched.
Rutledge has played all over the outfield and as a designated hitter for the Golden Bears. He leads the team in Runs (54), Home Runs (7), Triples (3), Slugging Percentage (.598), Walks (37), On-base Percentage (.503) and Stolen Bases (19-for-21).
Bullington led the defending conference champions to receive the No. 3-seed after finishing the season with a 25-7 record in conference play and 28-21 overall in his first year with the Badgers. Spring Hill will open tournament play against No. 6 Edward Waters (23-20, 16-13 SIAC) on Thursday at 9 a.m. (EST) at the ASU West Campus.
The Elite 14 award recognized the student-athlete who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the SIAC championship level in his or her sport while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. Collier Higgs of Kentucky State is this year’s baseball Elite 14 recipient and Daiton Pass of Edward Waters University is the Co-Elite 14 Award recipient.
The 2023 Cricket SIAC Baseball Championship is set to take place May 4-7, 2023, at Albany State University, West Campus and Sherwood Christian Academy in Albany, GA. For more information, click
here. Events can be watched live on the
SIAC Sports YouTube channel.
(complete team listed below)
BASEBALL ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
Coach of the Year: Walker Bullington, Spring Hill
Player of the Year: Joseph Esparza, Kentucky State
Utility Player of the Year: Luke Addison, Albany State
Starting Pitcher of the Year: Enrico Peele, Savannah State
Relief Pitcher of the Year: Logan Watts, Miles
Freshman of the Year: Trey Rutledge, Miles
Elite 14: Collier Higgs, Kentucky State, 4.0 GPA
Co-Elite 14: Daiton Pass, Edward Waters, 4.0 GPA
First Team
| Position |
Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
| Starting Pitcher |
Enrico Peele |
Savannah State |
R-Senior |
Lehigh Acres, FL |
| Starting Pitcher |
Landon Kiefer |
Albany State |
Freshman |
Parrish, FL |
| Starting Pitcher |
Jeremiah Reddell |
Albany State |
Sophomore |
Albany, GA |
| Starting Pitcher |
Logan Clark |
Spring Hill |
R-Senior |
Cleveland, MS |
| Catcher |
Brandon Leroy |
Miles |
Junior |
Eufaula, AL |
| First Base |
Joseph Esparza |
Kentucky State |
Junior |
San Diego, CA |
| Second Base |
Jonathan Logsdon |
Albany State |
Junior |
Leesburg, GA |
| Short Stop |
Hill Corley |
Albany State |
Sophomore |
Albany, GA |
| Third Base |
Austin Roberts |
Albany State |
Sophomore |
Grantville, GA |
| Outfield |
Jackson Bell |
Spring Hill |
R-Sophomore |
Mobile, AL |
| Outfield |
Lavoisier Fisher |
Albany State |
Junior |
Suwanee, GA |
| Outfield |
Joe Smith |
Savannah State |
R-Senior |
Brunswick, GA |
| Relief Pitcher |
Logan Watts |
Miles |
Freshman |
McCalla, AL |
| Designated Hitter |
Tucker Jordan |
Albany State |
Junior |
Blountstown, FL |
| Utility Player |
Justin Murray |
Benedict |
Sophomore |
Toronto, Canada |
Second Team
| Position |
Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
| Starting Pitcher |
Kai St. Germaine |
Spring Hill |
Senior |
Peoria, AZ |
| Starting Pitcher |
Evan Langston |
Spring Hill |
Sophomore |
Mammoth Lakes, CA |
| Starting Pitcher |
Jose Santiago |
Savannah State |
R-Junior |
North Lauderdale, FL |
| Starting Pitcher |
Jared Showalter |
Savannah State |
R-Senior |
Huntingdon, PA |
| Catcher |
Taj Bates |
Benedict |
Sophomore |
St. Croix, Virgin Islands |
| First Base |
Norris McClure |
Spring Hill |
Junior |
Mandeville, LA |
| Second Base |
Kentavious Veal |
Clark Atlanta |
Junior |
Gordon, GA |
| Short Stop |
Elijah Pinckney |
Morehouse |
Freshman |
Morningside, MD |
| Third Base |
Hugo Schoening |
Edward Waters |
R-Freshman |
Orange Park, FL |
| Outfield |
Gage Ragona |
Spring Hill |
R-Senior |
Mobile, AL |
| Outfield |
Isaiah Canty |
Benedict |
Junior |
Columbia, S.C. |
| Outfield |
Trey Rutledge |
Miles |
R-Freshman |
Birmingham, AL |
| Relief Pitcher |
John Luegering |
Albany State |
Junior |
Marietta, GA |
| Designated Hitter |
Nick Hunter |
Spring Hill |
Sophomore |
Herrin, IL |
| Utility Player |
Luke Addison |
Albany State |
Freshman |
Leesburg, GA
|