GREENSBORO, N.C. --- Three Tusculum University student-athletes have been named to the Rawlings NCAA Division II All-Southeast Region Team as selected by the American Baseball Coaches Association.
Daulton Martin and Brandon Trammell garnered All-Region first team honors, while Bryson Ford was selected to the second team. Martin and Trammell advance to the ABCA/Rawlings All-America ballot which will be announced this Friday (June 4).
The team is voted on by members of the ABCA and the process is led by the ABCA/NCAA II All-America Committee. The Southeast Region is comprised of teams from the South Atlantic Conference, Peach Belt Conference and Conference Carolinas.
Martin, a graduate student from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, earns ABCA All-Region first team honors for a third time in his career (2018, 2019, 2021). He is a consensus All-Region selection this year earning first team honors from the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). Earlier this week, he earned NCBWA All-America honorable mention distinction, making him the second 3-time All-American in program history.
The three-time All-SAC and All-Region selection finished with a .336 batting average this year where he totaled 51 hits including a league-best four triples (29th in NCAA II). His 12 home runs in 2021 are third in the conference, while his 48 RBI and 53 runs scored are both third-best in the SAC. He has been hit by a pitch 20 times (1st in SAC / 3rd in NCAA II) in 2021 which are a new TU single-season record. He is 12-of-13 in stolen bases and leads the team with 93 fielding assists.
Martin accounted for 16 multi-hit games including a 4-for-4 performance in the series opener with Limestone where he tied a TU single-game record with nine RBI including two home runs with one of them being a grand slam. He followed in the second game of the series with three hits, including two more homers and five RBI against the Saints. He was tabbed the NCBWA Region Player of the Week as well as SAC Player of the Week and TSWA College Player of the Week.
Martin is TU's all-time leader in hits (293), runs scored (236), at-bats (793), doubles (66), runs batted in (193), total bases (480), walks (150) and hit-by-pitch. He is also second in school history in triples (17), on-base percentage (.496), assists (489) and tied for third in stolen bases (49). In 2020, Martin was also named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America® first team.
Trammell, a senior outfielder from Knoxville, Tennessee, garners his third All-Region first team honor this spring, including nods from the NCBWA and D2CCA. He led the Pioneers with his .387 batting average and a conference-best 61 RBI (6th in NCAA II). The University of Tennessee transfer pounded out 58 hits (3rd in SAC) including a team-best 13 home runs (2nd in SAC / 40th in NCAA II).
The 2021 All-SAC first team choice recorded 21 multi-hit games with nine doubles, two triples while going 11-of-15 in stolen bases. His .733 slugging percentage is best on the team (5th in SAC), while his .473 on-base percentage is seventh in the conference. He has recorded five outfield assists and was named to the NCBWA All-America third team, becoming the 23rd All-American in program history.
Ford, a graduate student from Knoxville, picks up his second All-Region laurel this season after being named to the D2CCA All-Region second team as a utility player. The two-time All-Conference selection batted .338 and closed out the season strong reaching base safely in his last 25 outings. He scored 60 runs which are the second-most in NCAA II this year. Of his 50 hits in 2021, he had 14 doubles, two triples and six home runs while tallying 45 RBI. He leads the SAC with 23 stolen bases in 27 attempts.
In his 157-game career, Ford totaled 168 hits with 34 doubles, six triples, 12 home runs and 129 RBI. He is TU's all-time leader with 60 career stolen bases and is listed in the school record book several times where he is third all-time in runs scored (166), eighth in RBI (129), seventh in walks (97), sixth in sacrifice bunts (19), ninth in sacrifice flies (10) and seventh in hit by pitch (25). In 2020, Ford was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District first team.
North Greenville led the way with five selections, Mount Olive with four All-Region picks, while Tusculum, Catawba, Columbus State and North Georgia had three honorees apiece.
The Pioneers went 30-11 overall this year and are currently ranked 15th in the nation. Tusculum established a school and SAC single-season record with 25 league wins this spring.
ABCA / Rawlings NCAA Division II All-Southeast Region Team
First Team
C – John Michael Faile, North Greenville
1B – Hunter Shepherd, Catawba
2B – Daulton Martin, Tusculum
3B – Livan Reinoso, Erskine
SS – Isaac Bouton, Columbus State
INF – River Ryan, UNC Pembroke
OF – Tucker Greer, Young Harris
OF – Brandon Trammell, Tusculum
OF – Jonathan Martin, Georgia Southwestern
OF – Ethan Stringer, North Greenville
DH – Nik Levensteins, North Georgia
SP – Bryan Ketchie, Catawba
SP – Hunter Stevens, Mount Olive
SP – Cade Heil, North Georgia
SP – Brayden Coe, Carson-Newman
RP – Brody McCullough, Wingate
Second Team
C – Robert Brooks, Columbus State
1B – Benjamin Huber, Limestone
2B – Mason Dodd, Belmont Abbey
3B – Todd Mattox, Francis Marion
SS – Bryson Ford, Tusculum
INF – Gehrig Octavio, North Greenville
OF – Marek Chlup, North Greenville
OF – Dane Bullock, Columbus St.
OF – Drue Galassi, Lenoir-Rhyne
OF – Ethan Stringer, North Greenville
OF – Crews Taylor, North Georgia
DH – Brady West, North Greenville
SP – Reed Parris, Mount Olive
SP – Marshall Thompson, Lander
SP – Joshua Lanham, Lenoir-Rhyne
SP – Tucker Smith, Georgia Southwestern
RP – Robbie Cowie, Catawba
Region Player of the Year: John Michael Faile, North Greenville
Region Pitcher of the Year: Bryan Ketchie, Catawba
