ROCK HILL, S.C. --- The Tusculum Pioneers placed six student-athletes on the 2021 All-South Atlantic Conference Baseball Team announced league officials Wednesday.
Brandon Trammell, Daulton Martin and Trey Hinton earned All-SAC first team honors, Bryson Ford was tabbed the second team shortstop, while pitchers Gunner Becker and Mitch McCain received All-SAC honorable mention distinction.
SAC Champion Catawba had the most selections on the All-SAC team with nine honorees. Tusculum was second with six, Wingate was third with five, Lenoir-Rhyne and Newberry had four each, while SAC newcomer Limestone had three players selected. Carson-Newman and UVA Wise had two each, while Coker and Mars Hill had one player apiece.
Brandon Trammell, a senior outfielder from Knoxville, Tennessee, leads NCAA Division II with his 57 RBI. The University of Tennessee transfer leads the team with his .384 batting average which is currently fourth in the conference. He has totaled 53 hits including eight doubles, two triples and 13 home runs which are second in the SAC and the eighth-most in a TU season. His .754 slugging percentage is third in the conference. Trammell has 24 walks and has gone 11-of-15 in stolen bases. He has been one of the top defensive outfielders in the conference where he has recorded five outfield assists this year.
Daulton Martin, a graduate student from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, earns All-SAC honors for a fourth time in his career and third consecutive occasion being tabbed the first team second baseman. Martin is fourth on the team with his .350 batting average where he has totaled 49 hits (22nd in NCAA II) including six doubles and a SAC-leading four triples (17th in NCAA II). His 12 home runs this year are a career-best and are third in the conference and 13th in NCAA II. He has been hit by a pitch 16 times this season, which leads the league and is sixth in the country. He owns a .489 on-base percentage (6th in SAC) and a .707 slugging percentage (8th in SAC). He is also 12-of-13 in stolen bases and leads the team with his 87 fielding assists.
Martin, a two-time All-American and three-time All-Region choice, has etched his name throughout the Tusculum record book. He owns numerous career records including runs scored (231), hits (291), RBI (193), doubles (66), total bases (478), walks (149) and hit-by-pitch (53). In his 216 career games, he has a .373 batting average while also posting a .497 on-base percentage and a .612 slugging percentage. Martin's 149 walk total is the second-most in SAC history and five shy of the league record.
Trey Hinton, a graduate student from Knoxville, garners his first All-Conference accolade of his career as he is named the first team designated hitter. He is third on the team with his .364 batting average with 20 hits including seven doubles, one triple and one home runs. His .568 on-base percentage is second on the roster where he has drawn 22 walks against 10 strikeouts.
During his 114-game career, Hinton has recorded 113 walks which are the second-most in program history with only 62 strikeouts. His .480 career on-base percentage is seventh in the TU record book.
Bryson Ford, a graduate student from Knoxville, earns his second All-SAC accolade of his career. He garnered All-SAC honorable mention laurels at third base during his 2019 sophomore campaign. This spring, Ford is leading the nation with his 56 runs scored. He is batting .328 with 45 hits, including a team-leading 13 doubles, which are second in the SAC and 16th in the nation. Ford leads the team with his 19 stolen bases (2nd in SAC / 8th in NCAA II), to go along with two triples, five home runs and 40 RBI.
Ford became Tusculum's all-time leader with 56 stolen bases in his 154-game career. His 162 career runs are fourth in the TU record book while his 124 RBI are eight-best by a Pioneer.
Gunner Becker, a senior right-hander from Grove City, Pennsylvania, has been TU's top-pitcher in the weekend rotation where he has a 7-2 record with a 5.51 earned run average. He has appeared in 10 games with nine starts while posting four complete games with a team-leading 47.1 innings of work. His seven pitching victories are second in the SAC and ninth in NCAA II.
In Becker's two seasons with the Pioneers, he has a sterling 10-2 record with 48 strikeouts and a 3.81 career ERA in his 16 appearances (15 starts).
Mitch McCain, a left-hander from Lawrenceville, Georgia, earned All-SAC honorable mention recognition as a relief pitcher. McCain led the league with his eight saves, which are currently tied for the NCAA II lead. He has a 2-2 record in his 17 relief appearances (2nd in SAC / 5th in NCAA II) while posting a 1.54 ERA. He leads the team with his 48 strikeouts in 35 innings on the mound while limiting the opposition to a .148 batting average.
McCain's eight saves are one away from tying the TU single-season record while his 15 saves in his 74-game career are fourth-most in school history. His 74 mound appearances are the second-most by a Pioneer reliever. He has a 10-9 record in his career while posting a 3.79 ERA with 161 strikeouts in 119 innings.
Tusculum was the SAC Statistical team champions for slugging percentage (.532), on-base percentage (.449) and doubles per game (2.08). Individually, Trammell was the SAC statistical champion for RBI per game (1.50).
Tusculum (29-9) is the 11th-ranked team in the nation and is the No. 2 seed in this week's Pilot Flying J SAC Baseball Tournament in Kodak, Tennessee. The Pioneers will face an opponent yet to be determined on Friday afternoon at 2:45 p.m. from Smokies Park.
2021 All-South Atlantic Conference Baseball Team
SAC Player of the Year: Hunter Shepherd, Catawba
SAC Pitcher of the Year: Bryan Ketchie, Catawba
SAC Freshman of the Year: Joshua Lanham, Lenoir-Rhyne
SAC Coach of the Year: Jim Gantt, Catawba
First Team
OF – Drue Galassi, Lenoir-Rhyne
OF – Brandon Trammell, Tusculum
OF – Tyler Thompson, Carson-Newman
1B – Hunter Shepherd, Catawba
2B – Daulton Martin, Tusculum
SS – Jeremy Simpson, Catawba
3B – Cameron Mills, Catawba
C – Tyler Blaum, UVA Wise
DH – Trey Hinton, Tusculum
SP – Bryan Ketchie, Catawba
SP – Joshua Lanham, Lenoir-Rhyne
SP – Brayden Coe, Carson-Newman
RP – Brody McCullough, Wingate
Second Team
OF – Gabe Wurtz, UVA Wise
OF – E.J. Ranel, Lenoir-Rhyne
OF – Lee Poteat, Catawba
1B – Benjamin Huber, Limestone
2B – Joe Butts, Catawba
SS – Bryson Ford, Tusculum
3B – Tyler Lala, Mars Hill
C – Cameron Morrison, Catawba
DH – Dylan Wilkinson, Catawba
SP – Andrew Patrick, Lenoir-Rhyne
SP – Hunter Dula, Wingate
SP – Greg Brown, Catawba
RP – Robbie Cowie, Catawba
Honorable Mention
OF – Jack Harris, Newberry
OF – Alex Cornell, Limestone
OF – Josh Evans, Limestone
1B – Luke Orr, Newberry
2B – McCann Mellett, Wingate
SS – Michael Dansky, Wingate
3B – Aidan Baur, Newberry
C – Logan McNeely, Wingate
DH – Drew Klaserner, Coker
SP – Alex Shirzai, Lenoir-Rhyne
SP –Tomas Sorcia Jr., Newberry
SP - Gunner Becker, Tusculum
RP – Mitch McCain, Tusculum
All-Defensive Team
RF – Lee Poteat, Catawba
CF – Bryce Butler, Catawba
LF – Alex Cornell, Limestone
1B – Hunter Shepherd, Catawba
2B – Lake Lybrand, Coker
SS – Jeremy Simpson, Catawba
3B – Cameron Mills, Catawba
C – Tyler Blaum, UVA Wise
P – Bryan Ketchie, Catawba
SAC Statistical Champions
Team Batting Average – Catawba (.334)
Team Slugging Percentage – Tusculum (.532)
Team On-Base Percentage – Tusculum (.449)
Team Doubles Per Game – Tusculum (2.08)
Team Triples Per Game – Limestone (0.36)
Team Home Runs Per Game – Lenoir-Rhyne (1.55)
Team Stolen Bases Per Game – Newberry (2.29)
Team Earned Run Average – Lenoir-Rhyne (3.55)
Team Strikeouts Per Game – Lenoir-Rhyne (10.3)
Batting Average – Benjamin Huber, Limestone (.439)
On-Base Percentage – Gabe Wurtz, UVA Wise (.519)
Slugging Percentage – Gabe Wurtz, UVA Wise (.811)
Home Runs Per Game – Drue Galassi, Lenoir-Rhyne (0.37)
RBI Per Game – Brandon Trammell, Tusculum (1.50)
Doubles Per Game – Tyler Blaum, UVA Wise (0.42)
Triples Per Game – Alex Cornell, Limestone (0.13)
Stolen Bases Per Game – Nick Butler, Newberry (0.71)
Earned Run Average – Brody McCullough (1.31)
Strikeouts Per Nine Innings – Joshua Lanham (13.17)
Pitching Victories – Bryan Ketchie, Catawba (8)
