FRISCO, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana second baseman
Brock Hebert was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year by a vote of league coaches and sports information directors, the league announced Monday in conjunction with the release of its all-conference teams. The junior was also named the league's hitter of the year, becoming the first Lion to win either award.
Junior right-handed pitcher
Stefan Lopez was named the conference's relief pitcher of the year and freshman right-handed pitcher
Andro Cutura was named the league's freshman of the year, giving the Lions four of the seven individual award winners this season.
Texas State junior Travis Ballew was named the pitcher of the year and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi junior Daniel Minor was named the newcomer of the year to round out the player awards. First-year Sam Houston State coach David Pierce was named the Clay Gould Coach of the Year.
Southeastern also had four all-conference selections, nabbing a league-high three spots on the first team, including Hebert, Lopez and senior first baseman
Jonathan Pace.
Hebert, a junior from Bourg, La. (South Terrebonne H.S.), led the conference with a .388 batting average, 55 runs scored and 21 doubles. He also was the conference leader in steals, swiping 36 of a league-best 43 attempts, and in fielding assists with 179. Hebert, a two-time conference hitter of the week this season, also ranked second in on-base percentage (.486) and hits (80), third in plate appearances (253) and hit by pitch (13), fourth in total bases (111), and fifth in slugging percentage (.539) and walks (28). He drove in 35 runs, while 25 of his 80 hits went for extra bases. In conference games, the first-team all-conference first baseman was the league leader in hits (51), runs scored (30) and stolen bases (22).
Lopez is the first Lion to be named the conference's relief pitcher of the year. The Southeastern junior from New Iberia, La. (New Iberia H.S.) leads the conference with 19 saves, which is tied for the lead in NCAA Division I. In 25 appearances, all in relief, Lopez has struck out 39 batters and walked just four in 26.0 innings pitched. He is 1-1 on the year and manages a 0.69 ERA while holding opposing batters to a .179 batting average. Only three of the 17 hits he allowed went for extra bases and two of the five runs he allowed were earned. He leads the conference in games finished with 25.
Both Hebert and Lopez are semifinalists for the Dick Howser Trophy, which goes to the college baseball player of the year and is selected by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Cutura's selection as the freshman of the year also marks the first time a Lion has won that award. The native of Pearl River, La. (Pearl River H.S.), boasts a 6-1 record and 2.90 ERA in 13 appearances. He came in out of the bullpen in his first three appearances before settling into the starting rotation in his fourth game. Cutura struck out 31 batters in 68.1 innings and limited batters to a .220 batting average. He tossed his lone complete game of the season in a victory over Texas State in April.
Pace, a junior from Terry, Miss., was named first-team first baseman after hitting .358 with a home run and 41 RBIs. His batting average is second on the Lions and fourth in the Southland. He finished the regular season third in the conference with 76 hits.
Cody Gougler was named a third-team outfielder. The senior from Huntsville, Texas, is hitting .282 with three home runs and 41 RBIs. His 11 multi-RBI games lead the Lions and he sits fourth on the school's all-time hits list.
Southeastern also had three players earn an honorable mention, including Cutura, outfielder
Harry Slade and reliever
Dylan Hills. Slade is hitting .306 with one home run, 34 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Hills has an 8-4 record and a pair of saves to go with a 1.79 ERA in 24 appearances.
Sam Houston State and Texas State each placed a league-best five student-athletes on the three all-conference teams, including two on the first team, one on the second team and two more on the third team. Sam Houston junior third baseman Kevin Miller and sophomore designated hitter Anthony Azar earned first-team honors. Sophomore Caleb Smith earned second-team kudos, while senior outfielder Jake Arrington and senior right-handed pitcher Michael Oros earned third-team mention.
Texas State placed two players on the first team with senior outfielder Jeff McVaney joining Ballew on the top all-conference squad. Junior catcher Andrew Stumph and junior left-hander Colton Turner earned second-team honors and senior first baseman Casey Kalenkosky garnered a spot on the third team.
Central Arkansas and Stephen F. Austin each had four all-conference selections. Northwestern State and UT Arlington each had three all-conference honorees, while Nicholls State, UTSA and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi each had two. With one all-conference selection each for Lamar and McNeese State, all 12 league teams were represented.
Another 13 student-athletes earned honorable mention after earning votes from at least 25 percent of the league's coaches and sports information directors.
Nine of the 36 all-conference players were repeat selections, including Texas State's McVaney, a three-time honoree. Hebert, Stumph and Kalenkosy are two-time honorees as are McNeese State senior outfielder Seth Granger, UTSA junior third baseman Ryan Dalton, Central Arkansas senior outfielder Jonathan Davis, Nicholls State designated hitter Jeremy Hill and Stephen F. Austin senior catcher Jarid Scarafiotti.
The 2012 Southland Conference Baseball Tournament gets underway Wednesday at Bobcat Ballpark in San Marcos, Texas. The winner of the double-elimination tournament earns the league's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament, which starts June 1 with regional play.
2012 All-Southland Conference Baseball Teams
First Team
Pos. Name University Class Hometown
1B Jonathan Pace Southeastern La. Sr. Terry, Miss.
2B Brock Hebert -2 Southeastern La. Jr. Bourg, La.
3B Kevin Miller Sam Houston State Jr. Pearland, Texas
SS Hunter Dozier Stephen F. Austin So. Denton, Texas
C Travis Snider Central Arkansas Sr. Alvin, Texas
OF Preston Beck UT-Arlington Jr. Dallas, Texas
OF Jeff McVaney-3 Texas State Sr. Houston, Texas
OF Seth Granger-2 McNeese State Sr. Iowa, La.
DH Anthony Azar Sam Houston State So. The Woodlands, Texas
P Daniel Minor Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Jr. Dripping Springs, Texas
P Travis Ballew Texas State Jr. Rockwall, Texas
P Stefan Lopez Southeastern La. Jr. New Iberia, La.
Second Team
1B Bryan Willson Central Arkansas Sr. Camarillo, Calif.
2B Philip Lyons Nicholls State So. Thibodaux, La.
3B Ryan Dalton-2 UTSA Jr. Sugar Land, Texas
SS Ryan Walker UT-Arlington So. Arlington, Texas
C Andrew Stumph-2 Texas State Jr. Katy, Texas
OF Forrestt Allday Central Arkansas Jr. Friendswood, Texas
OF Jonathan Davis-2 Central Arkansas Sr. Camden, Ark.
OF Will Watson Northwestern State Jr. Dallas, Texas
DH Jeremy Hill-2 Nicholls State Sr. Long Beach, Miss.
P Caleb Smith Sam Houston State So. Huntsville, Texas
P Lance Day UT-Arlington Sr. Snyder, Texas
P Colton Turner Texas State Jr. Joshua, Texas
Third Team
1B Casey Kalenkosky-2 Texas State Sr. San Antonio, Texas
2B Freddy Villalobos Stephen F. Austin Jr. Houston, Texas
3B Darian Johnson Lamar Jr. Chandler, Ariz.
SS RJ Perucki UTSA So. Tomball, Texas
C Jarid Scarafiotti-2 Stephen F. Austin Sr. Shreveport, La.
OF Jake Arrington Sam Houston State Sr. Gunter, Texas
OF Cody Gougler Southeastern La. Sr. Huntsville, Texas
OF Drew Helenihi Northwestern State Sr. Livermore, Calif.
DH Jonathan Gonzales Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Jr. Buda, Texas
P Alex Moshier Stephen F. Austin Sr. Beaumont, Texas
P Joe Scanio Northwestern State Sr. St. Louis, Mo.
P Michael Oros Sam Houston State Sr. Kingwood, Texas
2 - indicates two-time all-conference selection; 3 - indicates three-time all-conference selection.
Honorable Mention – First Base: Casey Selsor, UTSA; Brad Picha, Lamar.
Second Base: Michael Guerra, UT Arlington.
Third Base: Nick Hinojos, Northwestern State.
Shortstop: Drew Vest, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Outfield: Preston Morrow, UT Arlington; Colt Atwood, Sam Houston State; Jordan Lee, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi;
Harry Slade, Southeastern Louisiana; Ethan Harris, Central Arkansas; Luke Plucheck, Sam Houston State; Daniel Rockett, UTSA.
Designated Hitter: Seth Dornak, Lamar.
Pitchers: Mason Melotakis, Northwestern State;
Andro Cutura, Southeastern Louisiana; Dylan Hills, Southeastern Louisiana; Blake Ware, McNeese State; Justin Jackson, Sam Houston State; Phillip Garcia, Texas A&M-CorpusChristi.
Individual Superlative Award Winners
Player of the Year: Brock Hebert, Southeastern Louisiana
Hitter of the Year: Brock Hebert, Southeastern Louisiana
Pitcher of the Year: Travis Ballew, Texas State
Relief Pitcher of the Year: Stefan Lopez, Southeastern Louisiana
Freshman of the Year: Andro Cutura, Southeastern Louisiana
Newcomer of the Year: Daniel Minor, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Coach of the Year: David Pierce, Sam Houston State
