FROM ATLANTIC SUN PRESS RELEASE
LakePoint, Ga. – Stetson took home multiple top ASUN Conference Baseball Preseason honors as Austin Hale was voted the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and Logan Gilbert took home the Preseason Pitcher of the Year honor by unanimous vote. The Hatters were also favored in the Coaches Poll to claim the league title with seven first-place votes. USC Upstate’s Charlie Carpenter was voted Preseason Player of the Year, announced Wednesday by the league office.
Gilbert was also joined by four Hatter teammates as Stetson featured five players on the ASUN Preseason All-Conference team, the most of any league squad. Starting pitcher Jack Perkins, shortstop Jorge Arenas, outfielder Jacob Koos and designated hitter Jack Gonzalez joined the unanimous Preseason Pitcher of the Year selection Gilbert. FGCU featured three players, with Kennesaw State and Lipscomb each receiving two honorees. USC Upstate’s Carpenter and Jacksonville’s Angel Camacho rounded out the Preseason All-Conference selections as voted on by the league’s head coaches.
Carpenter, the senior catcher for the Spartans, returns after hitting 11 homers and collecting 46 RBIs last season for USC Upstate. He finished the season with a .357 batting average and posted a .662 slugging percentage in conference play. Carpenter excelled behind the plate as well, committing only four errors all season long and finishing last year with a .990 fielding percentage. He was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 26th round, but decided to return to Spartanburg for his senior campaign. He becomes the second Spartan to garner ASUN Preseason Player of the Year honors, with former Spartan great Gaither Bumgardner earning the award in 2013.
Hale was instrumental behind the plate for the Hatters last season as he made starts in the final 46 games. He called all pitches as the Hatters posted a school-record 538 strikeouts last season. Offensively, Hale led the Hatters with 20 extra-base hits, including 13 doubles and two triples and five homers. He finished the season with a .990 fielding percentage and threw out base runners at a 36.5 percent clip.
2017 was a breakout year for Logan Gilbert as he earned ASUN Pitcher of the Year honors, along with Collegiate Baseball All-America Second Team honors and several more. Gilbert made 12 starts for the Hatters and went 10-0 on the year with 107 strikeouts in 89 innings pitched. He was a perfect 6-0 in conference play, posting a ridiculous 0.94 ERA. His command was outstanding all season long as he only allowed 26 walks, compared to those 107 total strikeouts. He looks to become the first ASUN pitcher to earn back-2-back ASUN Pitcher of the Year awards this season.
The Hatters garnered seven first-place votes to sit atop this year’s Coaches Poll, followed by FGCU which took home the final first-place vote. Jacksonville and Kennesaw State rounded out the top-four in the 2018 Preseason Coaches Poll. North Florida sits in fifth place, followed by Lipscomb in sixth, USC Upstate in seventh and NJIT in eighth.
Opening day is right around the corner as teams prepare for the first pitch of the 2018 ASUN Baseball season on February 16th. Read more about this year’s Preseason All-Conference Team below.
ASUN Baseball Preseason All-Conference Team (* – Denotes unanimous selection)
- Logan Gilbert, Stetson, Starting Pitcher*: The 2018 ASUN Baseball Preseason Pitcher of the Year was a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-Conference Team coming off his stellar sophomore season. The right-hander was undefeated in his 12 starts, posting a 10-0 mark. He was named to the Perfect Game/Rawlings All-America Third Team and NCBWA All-America Second Team last season. Gilbert posted a 2.02 ERA last year, dropping that to 0.94 in conference play. He became the third Hatter to earn Pitcher of the Year honors at the end of 2017 and looks to carry that momentum over into this spring.
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Josh Dye, FGCU, Starting Pitcher: Dye enters the 2018 season as one of the top rotation pitchers for the Eagles. He finished last season with a team-high 94.2 innings pitched, and posted an 8-5 record. Dye had a 7.23 K/9 ratio and finished with 76 strikeouts compared to only 13 walks. His 16 starts last season are the most by an FGCU starting pitcher in a single season in school history.
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Jack Perkins, Stetson, Starting Pitcher: The right-handed starter gives the Hatters a one-two punch with Gilbert in their weekend rotation. Perkins pitched 99.2 innings last season, striking out 108 batters, second-most in the ASUN only behind Gilbert. In 13 total starts, Perkins posted a 7-5 record and ranked sixth in the league in ERA at 2.71. Posted two 13K games last season against Tulane and The Citadel, which tied his career-high for Ks in a single outing.
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Kenton Herring, FGCU, Relief Pitcher: The senior right-hander was a workhorse for the Eagles out of the bullpen last season. He led the ASUN with 30 appearances and had the most strikeouts (77) among league relievers. Herring finished the campaign with an impressive 11.81 K/9 ratio as the Eagles secured their first ASUN Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. Herring was named to the ASUN All-Tournament Team as well in 2017 while finishing the year on a 13.2 scoreless inning streak.
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Charlie Carpenter, USC Upstate, Catcher*: Last season, Carpenter was named 2017 ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Second Team selection and was selected in the 26th round by the Atlanta Braves in the 2017 draft. He was also named 2017 ASUN First Team All-Conference and led Upstate with a .357 batting average, 38 runs scored, 70 hits and 46 RBI. He set an Upstate Division I record with 11 home runs. Carpenter led the team with 19 multi-hit games. Defensively, he threw out 42 percent of base stealers. He finished the year ranked third in ASUN in batting average, RBI, home runs and total bases.
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Angel Camacho, Jacksonville, First Baseman: Camacho enjoyed a breakout season as a sophomore in 2018. He hit .299, belting six homers, driving in 34 RBIs while getting on base at a .350 clip. In conference play, he was even better as he hit .313 with a .375 OBP, while hitting two homers and knocking in 10 runs in 21 ASUN games. Last season he hit safely in a team-high 18 games, and reached base safely in 24 straight. He also excels on the defensive side, as he ranks third all-time in JU history in fielding percentage at .991.
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Grant Williams, Kennesaw State, Second Baseman: Last season Williams was named ASUN First Team All-Conference and also Co-Defensive Player of the Year. He posted career highs in batting average (.305), at bats (223), hits (68), and RBI (29). Williams recorded the longest hitting streak of the season by any Owl by collected a hit in 17 straight games. He led the team with 23 multi-hit games and posted six multi-RBI games. Williams was a key piece defensively at second base for the Owls, committing just three errors the entire season with 91 putouts and 138 assists, while compiling a .987 fielding percentage. In conference play he committed just two errors, recording 32 putouts and 43 assists. Offensively in ASUN play, he hit .282 with 12 runs scored, two doubles, one triple and eight RBIs.
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Zeke Dodson, Lipscomb, Third Baseman: Coming off a season where he led the Bisons with a .306 batting average, Dodson returns to anchor the hot corner once again in 2018. Last season, 18 of his 64 hits were extra-base hits, including 13 doubles and three home runs. In ASUN Conference play, Dodson hit .333 and had an on-base percentage of .433. The Tifton, Ga. native ended the season on a tear at the plate, recording a hit in 10 straight games, while reaching base in 15 consecutive outings.
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Jorge Arenas, Stetson, Shortstop: Was a unanimous selection to the ASUN All-Freshman team in 2017. Arenas opened the year as the starter at third base before making the switch to shortstop. He was one of just two players to start all 56 games during the year, hitting .268 in 209 at bats. In ASUN play he led the team, and was fifth in the ASUN, with a .355 average. He ranked eighth in league games with a slugging percentage of .547. Had 15 multiple-hit games during the season, including a season-high four hits against NJIT on March 31. Hit .314 in games he started at short and had six multi-RBI games, with five of those coming in the final three weeks of the season.
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Taylor Allum, Kennesaw State, Outfielder*: Was named 2017 First Team All-Conference and 2017 ASUN All-Academic. Allum provided one of the most powerful bats in the KSU lineup last season, belting a career-high 15 home runs and knocked in 40 RBI. His 15 homers ranked second in the ASUN and his 46 runs batted in ranked eighth. His 15 homers also tied KSU’s single-season D-I record. Allum posted career-high numbers in games played (56), starts (55), at-bats (188), runs scored (41), hits (56), HR (15), RBI (46), and slugging percentage of .590.
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Gage Morey, FGCU, Outfielder: Morey appeared in all but two games for the Eagles, while earning 60 starts in CF. He ranked fourth on the team with a career-best .289 average and second with a career-best .412 OBP. Morey also registered career highs in runs (45), home runs (two), RBI (24) and walks (37). He made the game-saving, diving catch with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning in Gainesville to complete a midweek sweep of No. 2 and eventual National Champ, Florida. More led the team with a .987 fielding percentage and committed only two errors with 150 putouts and team-leading six outfield assists.
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Jacob Koos, Stetson, Outfielder: Started every game for the Hatters in centerfield in 2017, one of only two Stetson players to start all 56 games. Led the Hatters in batting average (.317), hits (73), runs scored (50), walks (32) and stolen bases (23). He finished ninth in the ASUN in hitting, tied for third in runs, sixth in hits and tied for second in stolen bases. Koos was ranked 37th in the nation in stolen bases per game and 25th in steals. He was second on the team with 20 multiple-hit games, including the only five-hit game of the year against USF on April 26th. Koos also had a streak of eight multi-hit games.
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Jake Perry, Lipscomb, Designated Hitter: In 2017 he was named 2nd Team All-ASUN DH in his first season at Lipscomb. Perry saw action in 50 games while slashing .279/.349/.464. He belted 7 home runs and knocked in 37 RBI. He also had 11 doubles, 21 walks and 25 runs. Perry finished with 15 multi-hit and 9 multi-RBI games, including a career-best 4-hit, 4-RBI day in a win over NJIT. His .464 slugging was second best on the team.
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Jack Gonzalez, Stetson, Designated Hitter: Gonzalez settled nicely into the cleanup spot for the Hatters in 2017 and stayed there all year, starting a total of 48 games and playing in 52. After leading the team in hitting for much of the season, he finished third on the squad with a .298 average and boasted a team-best six home runs. He finished the year with 15 extra-base hits and drove in 28 runs while scoring 23. In ASUN play Gonzalez hit .308 with three home runs and 16 RBI. He also had 15 multi-hit games and five multi-RBI games, including a team season-high six RBIs against NJIT on March 31.
2018 ASUN Baseball Preseason Coaches Poll
Pl. Team 1st Place Votes Points 2017 Record
1. Stetson 7 63 27-29 (15-6)
2. FGCU 1 55 43-20 (13-8)
3. Jacksonville 46 36-24 (16-5)
4. Kennesaw State 40 25-32 (10-11)
5. North Florida 34 33-24 (12-9)
6. Lipscomb 25 28-28 (9-12)
7. USC Upstate 15 24-31 (7-14)
8. NJIT 10 9-40 (2-19)
For the seventh-consecutive year, the ASUN took to social media to poll the fans for the conference preseason superlative awards. Over 1,870 votes were cast for student-athletes across the league. Stetson’s Jacob Koos was named the Fan-Voted Preseason Player of the Year with 176 votes, while FGCU’s Josh Dye got the nod for Fan-Voted Pitcher of the Year with 252. Lipscomb’s Blake Thomas earned Fan-Voted Defensive Player of the Year honors after garnering 330 votes.
The ASUN Conference is a NCAA Division I league with eight member institutions committed to Building Winners for Life. The ASUN meets the challenge of maintaining the highest standards in academic and athletic achievement with a true balance between student and athlete. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the ASUN footprint reaches into seven of the top 50 media markets in the nation. The ASUN includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University. The University of North Alabama will join the league for the 2018-19 season.
