Conference USA announced Tuesday the 2023 Baseball Superlative Awards along with the leagues all-conference and all-freshman teams. After a superb regular season at the plate, Florida Atlantics Nolan Schanuel was crowned C-USA Player of the Year. UTSA right-hander Simon Miller was dominant in the back end of the bullpen and holds the league lead in ERA (1.83) on his way to being named C-USA Pitcher of the Year. DBU designated-hitter Ethan Mann, was named the C-USA Newcomer of the Year, while his teammates Nathan Humphreys and Grant Jay won Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, respectively. DBUs Dan Heefner was named the Keith LeClair Coach of the Year, while his pitching coach Micah Posey earned the Assistant Coach of the Year honor. DBU had the most first-team All-Conference selections with four, while nine of the league’s teams had at least one representative on an all-conference team. Middle Tennessee garnered the most selections on the All-Freshman Team with three. Schanuel, a Boynton Beach, Florida, native, finished the regular season ranked first nationally in batting average (.460), on-base percentage (.623) and walks (67), while also ranking third in slugging percentage (.888). The junior first baseman concluded the regular season on a 51-game reached-base streak and is currently a semifinalist for the 2023 Golden Spikes Award. In addition to Schanuel, Jackson Ross was named to the first team, Dylan Goldstein earned second team honors, and Tyler Murphy was voted as a member of the all-freshman team. “I am incredibly honored and blessed to win Player of the Year,” commented Schanuel. “My heartfelt gratitude goes to my teammates and coaches whose unwavering support and guidance have been invaluable on this journey.” “Well deserved, added head coach John McCormack. “I haven’t seen a guy have a year like Nolan is having in my whole college career. He works hard, he cares, he’s diligent. He deserves it.” Miller finished the regular season with a 8-1 record, 11 saves in 64 innings pitched all out of the Roadrunner bullpen. The junior right-hander owned the nations lowest ERA for the majority of the season and currently ranks fifth with a 1.83 ERA. Mann, a transfer from New Mexico State, hit .318 with 17 home runs, a 1.149 OPS and paced the league with 68 RBI. His .699 slugging percentage ranked fifth in C-USA as he ripped 12 doubles while crossing the pay station 53 times. Humphreys manned centerfield for the Patriots as he boasted a .991 fielding percentage in 109 chances with three outfield assists. The sophomore from Midlothian, Texas, snagged highlight reel catches all season long as their defensive anchor. Jay burst on the scene for DBU in his rookie season, finishing the regular season with the second-most home runs in the conference (19) and the ninth-highest batting average (.335). The true freshman racked up 17 multi-hit games while also recording three multi-homer performances. After leading DBU to the regular season title in their first year in the league, Heefner was selected as the Keith LeClair Coach of the Year. The Patriots finished 25-5 in conference play and 42-13 in the regular season. DBU won all 10 of their conference series and has wins over Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Posey, in his third season as pitching coach for the Patriots, led the pitching staff to the lowest team-ERA (4.51) in the conference while they tossed three shutouts as a squad. The Patriot staff ranked 14th nationally in K/9 (10.6) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.68). Player of the Year Nolan Schanuel, Jr., INF, Florida Atlantic Pitcher of the Year Simon Miller, Jr., RHP, UTSA Newcomer of the Year Ethan Mann, R-Jr., DH, DBU Defensive Player of the Year Nathan Humphreys, So., OF, DBU Freshman of the Year Grant Jay, C/OF, DBU Keith LeClair Coach of the Year Dan Heefner, DBU Assistant Coach of the Year Micah Posey, DBU First Team All-Conference C Jorge Corona, Jr., LA Tech INF Nolan Schanuel, Jr., Florida Atlantic INF Antonio Valdez, Sr., UTSA INF Brett Coker, Sr., Middle Tennessee INF Jackson Ross, Sr., Florida Atlantic OF Cam Fisher, So., Charlotte OF Grant Jay, Fr., DBU OF Alec Sanchez, R-Sr., FIU SP Ryan Johnson, So., DBU SP Parker Smith, So., Rice SP Wyatt Hudepohl, Jr., Charlotte SP Jaden Hamm, Jr., Middle Tennessee RP Simon Miller, Jr., UTSA RP Kyle Amendt, R-Jr., DBU DH Ethan Mann, R-Jr., DBU UTIL Ethan Bates, Jr., LA Tech Second Team All-Conference C Kaden Hopson, Jr., Charlotte C Josh Killeen, Sr., UTSA INF Kodie Kolden, Sr., DBU INF Miguel Santos, Jr., DBU INF Leyton Barry, Sr., UTSA INF Jack Dragum, Sr., Charlotte OF Nathan Humphreys, So., DBU OF Caleb Hill, Jr., UTSA OF Dylan Goldstein, Jr., Florida Atlantic SP Jonathan Fincher, R-Sr., LA Tech SP Luke Malone, Sr., UTSA SP Braxton Bragg, Jr., DBU SP Dawson Hall, Fr., WKU RP Ethan Bates, Jr., LA Tech RP Brady Rose, Jr., DBU DH Ryne Guida, Jr., FIU UTIL Sammy Diaz, Sr., UTSA All-Freshman Team *Grant Jay, C/OF, DBU Roylan Quevedo, INF, FIU Tyler Murphy, RHP, Florida Atlantic Ollie Akens, RHP, Middle Tennessee Patrick Johnson, RHP, Middle Tennessee Jared Vetetoe, C/OF, Middle Tennessee Ben Royo, INF, Rice Nick Hollifield, C, UAB Ruger Riojas, RHP, UTSA Lukas Farris, INF/OF, WKU Dawson Hall, RHP, WKU *Freshman of the Year Several members of the All-Conference and All-Freshman Teams, as well as all of the superlative award-winners will be in action this week at the 2023 C-USA Baseball Championship in Houston, Texas. Championship action begins with a four-game slate from Reckling Park starting at 9 a.m. CT on Wednesday, May 24.
