OXFORD, Ala. — The Gulf South Conference announced its 2025 all-conference teams and individual award winners on Thursday, ahead of the GSC Baseball Championship at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala. Selections were made by the conference’s 12 head coaches via an online poll.
Valdosta State’s Orlando Pena was named GSC Player of the Year, while Delta State’s Drake Fontenot garnered Pitcher of the Year honors. West Florida’s Alex Urias was tabbed as Freshman of the Year, and Delta State’s Rodney Batts was voted GSC Coach of the Year.
All 12 GSC baseball teams were represented in the all-conference selections across two teams with a total of 34 student-athletes named. West Florida led the way with six All-GSC nods. Mississippi College and Valdosta State followed with five apiece, while Montevallo had four.
Pena had a solid year at the plate, logging a .350 batting average with 63 hits, 49 runs, and 78 RBI. He slugged .750 with 20 home runs, 10 doubles and a triple. As result the senior, led the Gulf South in home runs, RBI, slugging and total bases (135). Pena is the first Blazer to win the award since EJ Doskow in 2022.
Fontenot, a five-time GSC Pitcher of the Week, is the first Statesman to win season pitcher accolades since the award began in 2013. The senior right-hander was the conference leader in ERA (1.96), hits allowed per nine innings (6.77) and WHIP (0.96). His season also included a 9-1 record in 13 starts, 91.2 innings pitched, two complete games and 78 strikeouts.
Urias led the Argonauts and was ninth among GSC leaders with a .370 batting, as he had 47 hits in 127 at bats. Ranked the second toughest to strikeout in conference by NCAA Stats, his debut season also included 25 runs, 25 RBI, five doubles and two triples. He slugged .441 and posted a .430 on base percentage. Urias is the first Argo to win the award in 2018 (Matthew Estrada).
Batts collected top coaching honors for the first time since 2022 and second time in his career. Under his direction, the Statesmen won the GSC regular season title with a 23-10 record, while going 32-16 overall. Statistically, Delta State led the conference in hitting (.306) and was fifth in NCAA Division II in shutouts (7).
The 2025 GSC Baseball Championship will begin Friday, May 2 from Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala. Visit gscsports.org/bsbchamp25 for tickets, schedule, or more information.
2025 GSC Baseball Season Awards
Player of the Year: Orlando Pena, Valdosta State
Pitcher of the Year: Drake Fontenot, Delta State
Freshman of the Year: Alex Urias, West Florida
Coach of the Year: Rodney Batts, Delta State
First Team All-GSC
SP – Drake Fontenot, Delta State
SP – Dalton Neuschwander, West Florida
SP – Adiel Melendez, Montevallo
SP – Bryany Quimby, West Alabama
RP – Judah Buckner, West Alabama
C – Brett Rowell, West Florida
1B – Cole McCallum, Trevecca Nazarene
2B – Joey Parliment, Trevecca Nazarene
3B – Orlando Pena, Valdosta State
SS – Logan Shurden, Mississippi College
IF – Pedro Moreno, Valdosta State
OF – Brett Burrell, Delta State
OF – Carson Chavies, Union
OF – Bryce LaRocca, Mississippi College
OF – Jordan Evans, Mississippi College
DH – Brock Butler, UAH
UTL – Korey Cooper, Mississippi College
Second Team All-GSC*
SP – Hunter Booth, Valdosta State
SP – Dylan Farley, Delta State
SP – Cooper Casteel, Lee
SP – Jacob Heath, West Florida
SP – Kade Manderschied, West Florida
RP – Ryan Brown, Valdosta State
C – Isaiah French, Lee
1B – Jalen Smith, Christian Brothers
2B – McGwire Turner, Montevallo
3B – Connor Crowson, Montevallo
SS – Dom Presto, West Florida
OF – JJ Williams, Lee
OF – JT Vance, Mississippi College
OF – Alex Urias, West Florida
OF – Tyrese Rooks, AUM
DH – Hunter Stowe, Valdosta State
UTL – Evan Radford, Montevallo
* denotes an extra selection due to tie; no tiebreaker