St. Edward's first baseman LANCE LITTLE earned the Lone Star Conference Baseball Newcomer of the Year, the conference announced on Wednesday night. He was one of seven Hilltoppers to earn postseason honors.
Little led the Hilltoppers with a .409 batting average, a .707 slugging percentage, 15 home runs, 66 runs, 61 RBIs, and a .527 on-base percentage in his first season at St. Edward's. He finished sixth in the conference batting average, seventh in hits, third in runs scored, and second in home runs. He was named All-Conference First Team.
Outfielder CONNOR COX and pitcher LUKE SHORT also earned All-Conference First Team honors. Cox hit .401 with a .505 on-base percentage and a .586 slugging percentage in his first collegiate season. He had ten doubles, six home runs, 48 RBIs, and 56 runs scored.
Short broke St. Edward's single-season strikeouts record with 121, leading the conference and finishing third in the nation. He posted an 11-1 record with a 2.58 ERA in 87.1 innings pitched, limiting opponents to a .218 batting average.
WESLEY GAFFORD, CULLEN AINSWORTH, and DAVIS DREWEK earned Second Team honors. Gafford posted an 8-3 record in 14 appearances, striking out 91 hitters with a 5.53 ERA and .267 opponents' batting average in 84.2 innings pitched. He finished third in the conference in strikeouts.
Ainsworth hit .324 with a .636 slugging percentage, driving in 56 RBIs and scoring 57 runs with 12 home runs, eight doubles, and five triples.
Drewek hit .336 with a .638 slugging percentage, driving in 53 RBIs and scoring 44 runs. He posted 11 doubles, 11 home runs, and a triple with a team-high 12 stolen bases. He also earned All-Defensive Team honors.
LUKE JOHNSON earned Third Team honors. He hit .296 with a .640 slugging percentage, driving in 44 RBIs and scoring 31 runs. In addition, Johnson posted 11 doubles and ten home runs.
St. Edward's is 38-13 and finished with a 34-13 conference record. The Hilltoppers are ranked No. 3 in the South Central Region and defeated St. Mary's in the first round of the Lone Star Conference Tournament and open the next phase tomorrow against Texas-Tyler at 2:00 p.m.
2023 LSC BASEBALL ALL-CONFERENCE AWARDS
SPECIAL AWARDS
Player of the Year: Adam Becker, West Texas A&M
Pitcher of the Year: Kade Bragg, Angelo State
Newcomer of the Year: LANCE LITTLE, St. Edward's
Freshman of the Year: Kaston Mason, UT Tyler
Coaching Staff of the Year: Angelo State (Kevin Brooks, Adam Foster, Sam Mote, Riley Peterson)
[Positions with multiple players are sorted in alphabetical order by school name]
FIRST TEAM
| Name |
School |
Position |
Year |
Hometown |
| Kade Bragg |
Angelo State |
SP |
Jr. |
Ennis, Texas |
| Braxton Pearson |
Angelo State |
SP |
Jr. |
Georgetown, Texas |
| LUKE SHORT |
St. Edward's |
SP |
Jr. |
Los Gatos, Calif. |
| Nick Marshall |
West Texas A&M |
SP |
Jr. |
Antigo, Wisc. |
| Garrett Arredondo |
UT Tyler |
RP |
So. |
Sugar Land, Texas |
| Nick Wolf |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
C |
Jr. |
Houston, Texas |
| LANCE LITTLE |
St. Edward's |
1B |
So. |
Georgetown, Texas |
| Lane Hutchinson |
UT Tyler |
2B |
So. |
Baton Rouge, La. |
| Adam Becker |
West Texas A&M |
3B |
Sr. |
Midland, Texas |
| Carson Ogilvie |
Lubbock Christian |
SS |
Jr. |
Spring, Texas |
| Jacob Guerrero |
Angelo State |
OF |
Jr. |
Colleyville, Texas |
| Eduardo Acosta |
Lubbock Christian |
OF |
Sr. |
San German, Puerto Rico |
| CONNOR COX |
St. Edward's |
OF |
Fr. |
Longview, Texas |
| Clay Bradford |
St. Mary's |
OF |
Jr. |
Atascocita, Texas |
| Tripp Clark |
Angelo State |
DH |
Jr. |
Waco, Texas |
| Ethan Flodstrom |
UT Permian Basin |
UTL |
Jr. |
Port Angeles, Wash. |
SECOND TEAM
| Aaron Munson |
Angelo State |
SP |
Jr. |
San Antonio, Texas |
| WESLEY GAFFORD |
St. Edward's |
SP |
Sr. |
Georgetown, Texas |
| Braydon Johnson |
UAFS |
SP |
Sr. |
Alma, Ark. |
| Dylan Blomquist |
UT Tyler |
SP |
So. |
Belton, Texas |
| Andrew Girod |
St. Mary's |
RP |
Jr. |
San Antonio, Texas |
| CULLEN AINSWORTH |
St. Edward's |
C |
Sr. |
Katy, Texas |
| Ethan Bedgood |
UT Tyler |
1B |
Jr. |
Sherman, Texas |
| Carson Johnson |
UT Permian Basin |
2B |
So. |
Carl Junction, Mo. |
| Austin Ochoa |
UT Tyler |
3B |
Jr. |
Refugio, Texas |
| Justin Harris |
Angelo State |
SS |
So. |
The Woodlands, Texas |
| Jonatan Clough |
Eastern New Mexico |
OF |
Fr. |
La Romana, Dominican Republic |
| Chris Shull |
Lubbock Christian |
OF |
Jr. |
San Antonio, Texas |
| DAVIS DREWEK |
St. Edward's |
OF |
Jr. |
Katy, Texas |
| Will Fuenning |
West Texas A&M |
OF |
Sr. |
Scottsdale, Ariz. |
| Kaston Mason |
UT Tyler |
DH |
Fr. |
Rockwall, Texas |
| Jordan Gochenour |
UT Tyler |
UTL |
Sr. |
Houston, Texas |
THIRD TEAM
| Ayden Alger |
Lubbock Christian |
SP |
Jr. |
Lancaster, Calif. |
| Kobe Jaramillo |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
SP |
Jr. |
Bishop, Texas |
| Jan Cabrera |
Texas A&M International |
SP |
Jr. |
Denton, Texas |
| Miles Clack |
UT Tyler |
SP |
So. |
Katy, Texas |
| Scott Ellis |
Angelo State |
RP |
Jr. |
Bakersfield, Calif. |
| Kory Schmidt |
West Texas A&M |
C |
Jr. |
Liberty Hill, Texas |
| Nate Van Maanen |
Lubbock Christian |
1B |
Jr. |
Garland, Texas |
| Demetrio Archuleta |
Eastern New Mexico |
2B |
So. |
Farmington, N.M. |
| Brevin McCool |
Lubbock Christian |
3B |
So. |
Hobbs, N.M. |
| Ivan Duarte |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
SS |
Jr. |
Juarez, Mexico |
| Thomas Cain |
Angelo State |
OF |
Sr. |
Flower Mound, Texas |
| Blake Empkey |
Oklahoma Christian |
OF |
Sr. |
Dallas, Texas |
| Ryan Johnson |
West Texas A&M |
OF |
Sr. |
Albuquerque, N.M. |
| Jake Chapman |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
OF |
So. |
Boerne, Texas |
| LUKE JOHNSON |
St. Edward's |
DH |
So. |
McKinney, Texas |
| Austin Beck |
Angelo State |
UTL |
So. |
Allen, Texas |
