OXFORD, Ala. — The Gulf South Conference announced its yearly awards and All-GSC selections following the 2023 baseball season, as chosen by the conference’s head coaches.
Headlining the major awards was Montevallo senior third baseman Sam Kuchinski as he was named GSC Player of the Year. West Florida junior right-hander Dalton Neuschwander was voted Pitcher of the Year. Shorter left-handed pitcher Tanner Folds picked up Freshman of the Year, while West Florida head coach Mike Jeffcoat received Coach of the Year honors.
Kuchinski became the third individual in league-history to win top player honors in back-to-back seasons, joining Delta State’s Dee Haynes (1998-99) and Zach Shannon (2017-18). The Falcons’ third baseman also became the first GSC Triple Crown winner since Shannon accomplishd the feat in 2018, as he was the conference leader in batting average (.439), RBI (69), and home runs (16). In addition, Kuchinski topped the league charts in on-base percentage (.568), while ranking second in slugging (.823), and third in hits (72) and runs scored (55).
Neuschwander earned top pitching accolades after finishing the regular season as the conference leader in opposing batting average (.197) while being second in innings pitched (88.1), earned run average (2.05), and wins (8). The right-hander was also ninth in strikeouts (56) and and allowed the sixth-fewest hits (59). With the announcement, Neuschwander became the fourth UWF arm to be recognized.
Folds was named the conference’s top freshman, joining 2021 recipient Jacob Pajer as the only other Shorter player to win the award. The left-handed pitcher finished the season with a 10-5 record with two saves while starting 13 games and 19 appearances. He was also the GSC leader in wins and was among the top-five in ERA (4th/2.62), innings pitched (3rd/82.1), and opposing batting average (2nd/.209).
For the sixth-time in his career, Jeffcoat was named the league’s top coach, tying Jacksonville State’s Rudy Abbott for second in GSC history. The longtime head coach guided the Argonauts to their third regular season after posting a 22-8 record in league play, while 32-14 overall.
Player of the Year: Sam Kuchinski, Montevallo
Pitcher of the Year: Dalton Neuschwander, West Florida
Freshman of the Year: Tanner Folds, Shorter
Coach of the Year: Mike Jeffcoat, West Florida
First Team
SP - Dalton Neuschwander, West Florida
SP - Tanner Folds, Shorter
SP - Kade Mandershied, West Florida
SP - Peyton Berry, West Georgia
RP - Will Hotalen, Alabama Huntsville
C - Mike Scordo, West Florida
1B - Darrien McDowell, West Florida
2B - Reed Latimer, Montevallo
SS - Carson Clowers, Delta State
3B - Sam Kuchinski, Montevallo
OF - Anthony Calabro, West Georgia
OF - Malachi Cloud, Lee
OF - Garrett Bodine, Alabama Huntsville
DH - JP Gates, Valdosta State
UTL - Landon Ezzell, Alabama Huntsville
INF* - Sam Ladner, West Georgia
INF* - Mitchell Rottier, Alabama Huntsville
Second Team
SP - Jacob Smith, West Alabama
SP - Zach Henderson, Valdosta State
SP - Andre Orselli, Alabama Huntsville
SP - Major Posey, West Florida
RP/UTL - JP Gates, Valdosta State
C - Luke Mitchell, Montevallo
1B - Ben Teel, Montevallo
2B - True Fontenot, West Florida
SS* - Trent Jeffcoat, West Florida
SS* - Blake Vineyard, West Alabama
3B - Michael Rich, West Alabama
OF - Asa Awbrey, Montevallo
OF - Kobe Jones, Shorter
OF - JT Vance, Mississippi College
DH - Riley Black, Lee
UTL - Jake Nemith, West Alabama
* tie in voting; no tiebreaker
^ previous First Team All-GSC selection
# previous Second Team All-GSC selection