Shannon and Joyner Headline 2017 All-GSC Baseball Honors
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Gulf South Conference has announced the 2017 baseball all-conference awards, as voted on by the league’s coaches. Delta State’s
Zack Shannon has been named the GSC Player of the Year, while North Alabama’s
Tyler Joyner has been named the GSC Pitcher of the Year. West Alabama’s
Luke Phillips has been named the GSC Freshman of the Year, and Delta State head coach Mike Kinnison has been named the GSC Coach of the Year.
Shannon was statistically dominant for the Statesmen this year, leading Division II in batting average, hitting at a .464 clip. He is just the third player in GSC history to lead the nation in batting average, and he is the first to do it since 1999. Shannon also led the country in RBIs, knocking in 77 runs this season. He is the first in the conference to accomplish that feat since 2002. The junior also sat atop the league in slugging percentage, on-base percentage, hits, and home runs. Shannon is the first GSC Player of the Year for Delta State since 2008.
Joyner earns the top pitcher honor in the league, capping off a regular season where he led the conference in both innings pitched and wins. The junior’s strong work on the mound helped guide the Lions to their best GSC record since the 2011 season. Joyner threw seven complete games this year, tied for the best mark in the league. He also threw eight more innings and compiled two more wins than any other player in the conference. He saved his best work for conference play, recording 8 of his 10 wins against GSC opponents.
Phillips has been named the top freshman in the league to go along with Second Team All-GSC recognition. He was a three-time GSC Freshman of the Week in 2017, tied for the most in the league along with teammate, and fellow all-conference honoree,
Cole Waites. Phillips hit .353 this season, including 12 doubles, and drove in 39 runs. He started 47 games for the Tigers, who finished the season in second place in the GSC standings. Phillips is the first UWA player to win GSC Freshman of the Year since 2013, when the honor went to Mitch Holgate. Holgate would go to be named First Team All-GSC the next three seasons.
For the eighth time in his career, Kinnison has been named the GSC Coach of the Year. Kinnison first won the award in 1997 and last won it in 2013. For the fourth time in the last six seasons, the Statesmen finished the regular season with the best record in the league. DSU had seven players named all-conference this season, including six named All-GSC First Team and the GSC Player of the Year, Shannon. Currently, the Statesmen are ranked third in the nation and first in the South Region.
FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
| DH |
Brian Lane |
Delta State |
Jr. |
Spanish Fort, Ala. |
| C |
Nathan Wierzgac |
Lee |
Sr. |
Northville, Mich. |
| 1B |
Zack Shannon |
Delta State |
Jr. |
Cincinnati, Ohio |
| 2B |
Grant Barber |
Mississippi College |
Fr. |
Mobile, Ala. |
| 2B |
Emil Ellis |
Delta State |
Jr. |
Ridgeland, Miss. |
| 3B |
Nolen Milton |
Union |
So. |
Clarksville, Tenn. |
| 3B |
Hunter Wilson |
Mississippi College |
Jr. |
Olive Branch, Miss. |
| SS |
Tanner Burns |
UAH |
Jr. |
Harvest, Ala. |
| OF |
Clay Casey |
Delta State |
Jr. |
Melbourne, Fla. |
| OF |
Nick Delgado ^* |
West Alabama |
Sr. |
Pompano Beach, Fla. |
| OF |
Dalton Murray |
Valdosta State |
Jr. |
Okeechobee, Fla. |
| OF |
Drake Tucker |
North Alabama |
Sr. |
Florence, Ala. |
| SP |
Seth Birdsong |
Delta State |
Jr. |
Brownsville, Tenn. |
| SP |
Hunter Jones |
Valdosta State |
Jr. |
Palatka, Fla. |
| SP |
Tyler Joyner |
North Alabama |
Jr. |
East Brewton, Ala. |
| SP |
Will Myers |
UAH |
Sr. |
Philadelphia, Miss. |
| RP |
Zach Osbon |
Delta State |
Sr. |
Monroe, La. |
SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
| DH |
Luke Phillips |
West Alabama |
Fr. |
Saraland, Ala. |
| C |
AJ Walden ^ |
UAH |
Jr. |
Albertville, Ala. |
| 1B |
Kyle Hubbuch |
North Alabama |
Jr. |
Mount Juliet, Tenn. |
| 2B |
Dylan Little ^ |
West Alabama |
Sr. |
Semmes, Ala. |
| 3B |
Davis Elliott |
North Alabama |
So. |
Brentwood, Tenn. |
| SS |
Joel Murphy |
West Alabama |
Sr. |
Mandeville, La. |
| OF |
Casey Echols |
Mississippi College |
Sr. |
Braxton, Miss. |
| OF |
Ladeavon Matthews |
West Florida |
Sr. |
Douglasville, Ga. |
| OF |
Kyle Smith |
Mississippi College |
So. |
Petal, Miss. |
| OF |
Blaze Vazquez |
Shorter |
Sr. |
Naples, Fla. |
| SP |
Corey Beard |
Delta State |
Sr. |
Jefferson City, Mo. |
| SP |
JR Miller |
Union |
So. |
Searcy, Ark. |
| SP |
Art Vidrio ^ |
Lee |
Sr. |
Orange, Calif. |
| SP |
Cole Waites |
West Alabama |
Fr. |
Lawrenceville, Ga. |
| RP |
Kit Larson |
Lee |
Sr. |
Mill Valley, Calif. |
* Indicates previous First Team All-GSC selection
^ Indicates previous Second Team All-GSC selection
Player of the Year: Zack Shannon, Delta State
Pitcher of the Year: Tyler Joyner, North Alabama
Freshman of the Year: Luke Phillips, West Alabama
Coach of the Year: Mike Kinnison, Delta State