SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Six Wofford baseball players received All-Southern Conference honors as announced by the league on Monday. First baseman
Brett Hash (first team), catcher
Carson Waln (second team), and outfielder
McClain Bradley (second team) were recognized by both the coaches and the SoCon Sports Media Association.
Cody Miller was named second team designated hitter by the media.
Matt Ellmyer and
Brett Rodriguez were named to the All-Freshman Team.
The Terriers finished the 2017 season with a 28-28 overall record and a 13-11 mark in league play. It is the second time the team has posted a winning record in league play (13-10 in 2015). Wofford, the fifth seed, opens play in the Southern Conference Tournament on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. against #4 Furman at Fluor Field in Greenville.
Hash, a senior from Glenmore, Pa., has started all 56 games at first base. He is batting .330, which is second on the team. He ranks fifth in the Southern Conference in RBIs with a team-best 52. His 13 home runs are fourth in the league, plus he is fifth in total bases and ninth in runs scored. In his career, he has played in 112 games with a .317 batting average, along with 131 hits and 22 home runs. This is his first All-Southern Conference honor.
Bradley, a junior from Atlanta, Georgia, leads the team with a .375 batting average that ranks fourth in the Southern Conference. He is also fifth in slugging percentage, third in on base percentage and fourth in stolen bases in the league rankings. In 41 starts in the outfield, he has 60 hits, 46 runs scored, 33 RBIs and seven home runs. For his career, he has played in 98 games with a .345 batting average. This is his first All-Southern Conference honor.
Waln, a senior from Atlanta, Georgia, has played in 47 games, with 33 starts at catcher and 12 starts as the designated hitter. He is batting .301 on the season with 49 hits, 34 RBIs, five home runs, and his 16 stolen bases are ranked sixth in the league. In his career, he has played in 166 games with 128 starts and a .285 batting average to go with 43 stolen bases. He was named Southern Conference Player of the Week on May 1.
Miller, a junior from Newhall, California, has played in 33 games this season with starts at catcher and designated hitter. He has a .280 batting average with 28 hits, 27 RBIs and ten home runs. In 84 career games played, he has a .276 batting average, 55 RBIs and 15 home runs. This is his first All-Southern Conference honor.
Ellmyer, a freshman from Jupiter, Fla., has made 20 appearances on the mound this season with four starts. He has a 1-3 record and two saves, while striking out 30 batters in 53.0 innings for a 4.42 ERA. Rodriguez, a freshman from Queensbury, N.Y., has played in 46 games with 26 starts in the infield and as the designated hitter. He is batting .299 with 29 hits and 16 RBIs.
The four Wofford players to receive All-Southern Conference honors ties the program high, as there were also four in 2002 and 2015. This marks just the second time the Terriers have had two players named to the All-Freshman Team in the same season (2009).
Mercer shortstop Ryan Hagan was named Player of the Year by the coaches and media, while he shared the coaches award with Western Carolina outfielder Bryson Bowman. The coaches and media also selected The Citadel's J.P. Sears as Pitcher of the Year, UNCG third baseman Caleb Webster as Freshman of the Year and Mercer's Craig Gibson as Coach of the Year.
2017 SoCon Baseball Coaches All-Southern Conference Teams
Player of the Year – Ryan Hagan, Sr., SS, Mercer
Player of the Year – Bryson Bowman, R-Sr., OF, Western Carolina
Pitcher of the Year – JP Sears, Jr., LHP, The Citadel
Freshman of the Year – Caleb Webster, 3B, UNCG
Coach of the Year – Craig Gibson, Mercer
First team
SP JP Sears, The Citadel
SP Will Gaddis, Furman
RP Robert Broom, Mercer
C Hagen Owenby, ETSU
1B Brett Hash, Wofford
2B Danny Edgeworth, Mercer
2B Nobu Suzuki, Western Carolina
SS Ryan Hagan, Mercer
3B Caleb Webster, UNCG
OF Andrew Moritz, UNCG
OF Tyler Tharp, VMI
OF Bryson Bowman, Western Carolina
DH JT Thomas, Mercer
Second team
SP Josh Winder, VMI
SP Bryan Sammons, Western Carolina
RP Wyatt Burns, Samford
C Carson Waln, Wofford
1B Brandon Elmy, Furman
2B Troy Dixon, Samford
SS Brett Pope, Western Carolina
3B Jonathan Sabo, The Citadel
OF Carter Grote, Furman
OF Ben Spitznagel, UNCG
OF McClain Bradley, Wofford
DH Cesar Trejo, UNCG
All-Freshman Team
Will Abbott, The Citadel
Bryce Leasure, The Citadel
Cullen Smith, ETSU
Dillon Love, Furman
Alex Crotty, Mercer
Caleb Webster, UNCG
Branden Fryman, Samford
Taylor Garris, Samford
Anthony Mulrine, Samford
Ayrton Schafer, Samford
Andrew Robinson, Western Carolina
Matt Ellmyer, Wofford
Brett Rodriguez, Wofford
2017 SoCon Sports Media Association Baseball All-Conference Teams
Player of the Year – Bryson Bowman, R-Sr., OF, Western Carolina
Pitcher of the Year – JP Sears, Jr., LHP, The Citadel
Freshman of the Year – Caleb Webster, 3B, UNCG
Coach of the Year – Craig Gibson, Mercer
First team
SP JP Sears, The Citadel
SP Will Gaddis, Furman
RP Robert Broom, Mercer
C Hagen Owenby, ETSU
1B Brett Hash, Wofford
2B Nobu Suzuki, Western Carolina
SS Ryan Hagan, Mercer
3B Caleb Webster, UNCG
OF Andrew Moritz, UNCG
OF Tyler Tharp, VMI
OF Bryson Bowman, Western Carolina
DH JT Thomas, Mercer
Second team
SP Josh Winder, VMI
SP Bryan Sammons, Western Carolina
RP Wyatt Burns, Samford
C Carson Waln, Wofford
1B Brandon Elmy, Furman
2B Danny Edgeworth, Mercer
SS Brett Pope, Western Carolina
3B Taylor Garris, Samford
OF Carter Grote, Furman
OF Ben Spitznagel, UNCG
OF McClain Bradley, Wofford
DH Cody Miller, Wofford
