Nine SAC Baseball Players Receive NCBWA All-Region Accolades

Wingate, N.C.----The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) has announced the 2021 All-Southeast Region teams. North Greenville University redshirt sophomore catcher John Michael Faile is the NCBWA Southeast Region Player of the Year, with University of Mount Olive junior Hunter Stevens earning Region Pitcher of the Year accolades. Mount Olive's Robb Watt is the NCBWA Southeast Region Coach of the Year.

The Conference Carolinas Player of the Year, Faile is hitting .438 for the Crusaders in 2021 with 21 homers and 73 RBI. The redshirt sophomore also has 10 doubles and a triple on the year, scoring 54 runs while compiling an .882 slugging percentage and .503 on-base percentage. Faile has 74 hits on the season. He is also the first team All-Region catcher.

Stevens is 9-0 on the year with a 1.90 ERA for the Trojans. He has allowed just 14 earned runs in 66 1/3 innings of work, piling up 86 strikeouts against 30 walks. Stevens has given up just 43 hits on the season, holding opponents to a .182 average.

Watt was named the Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year, guiding the Trojans to a 35-10 season with a 27-5 record in league play. Mount Olive won the regular season league title and is ranked 12th in the most recent NCBWA top 25 poll. The Trojans are ranked second in the NCAA Southeast Region poll.

North Greenville and Catawba lead the way with three first team selections each, with Tusculum getting a pair of first team All-Region selections. Nine different schools have at least one first team All-Region selection.

Catawba's Hunter Shepherd is the first team All-Region first baseman. The SAC Player of the Year is hitting .401 for the regular season SAC champions, with 10 homers and 53 RBI. He also has 14 doubles and three triples on the season, scoring 44 runs while posting a .720 slugging percentage.

Daulton Martin of Tusculum earns first team All-Region honors at second base. The graduate student is hitting .336 with 12 homers and 48 RBI to go along with six doubles and four triples. He has stolen 12 bases in 13 attempts while scoring 53 runs on the year.

Erskine's Livan Reinoso is the first team All-Region third baseman, hitting .423 with 16 homers and 56 RBI on the year. Reinoso has also piled up 15 doubles while posting a .794 slugging percentage and .482 on-base percentage, scoring 52 runs for the Flying Fleet.

Isaac Bouton of Columbus State earns first team All-Region accolades at shortstop. The freshman is hitting .351 on the season, piling up 20 doubles to go along with 11 homers, driving in 47 runs while scoring 58 times. Bouton has collected 65 hits on the season, compiling a .659 slugging percentage.

The first team All-Region outfield consists of Tucker Greer from Young Harris, Brandon Trammell of Tusculum and Mark Chlup of North Greenville. Greer, the PBC Player of the Year, is hitting .413 with 20 homers and 62 RBI to go along with 14 doubles and a .901 slugging percentage. The senior has scored 60 runs on the year, stealing 13 bases in 14 attempts. Trammell has a .387 average for the Pioneers with nine doubles, 13 homers and 61 RBI. He has added 11 stolen bases while scoring 52 runs and posting a .733 slugging percentage. Chlup is hitting .345 for the Crusaders with 12 homers, eight doubles and 47 RBI. The redshirt sophomore has eight stolen bases on the year, scoring 45 runs and posting a .458 on-base percentage.

Gehrig Octavio of North Greenville is the first team All-Region utility player. He is hitting .441 on the year with seven doubles, seven triples and 24 RBI, piling up 67 hits while scoring 52 runs. Octavio has 16 stolen bases while posting a .538 on-base percentage.

Nik Levensteins from North Georgia earns first team All-Region accolades at the Designated Hitter position. The sophomore is hitting .338 with 19 homers and 62 RBI, adding 11 doubles while posting a .763 slugging percentage. He has 54 hits and 49 runs scored on the season.

Stevens leads the way as a first team All-Region pitcher, joining Bryan Ketchie from Catawba and Brayden Coe from Carson-Newman. The SAC Pitcher of the Year, Ketchie is 9-1 with a 1.88 ERA. The graduate student has 53 strikeouts and just seven walks in 72 innings of work, tossing a pair of complete games while allowing opponents to hit just .223 against him. Coe is 7-0 with a 2.23 ERA. The senior has 63 strikeouts in 64 innings of work, tossing four complete games while holding opponents to a .198 average.

Robbie Cowie of Catawba is the first team All-Region relief pitcher. He has eight saves on the year, posting a 1.86 ERA in 19 1/3 innings of work, allowing just four runs on 11 hits while striking out 16.

North Greenville leads the way with a pair of second team selections, with 13 teams represented on the NCBWA All-Region second team.

Columbus State junior Robert Brooks is the second team catcher, with Limestone junior Benjamin Huber earning the honor at first base. Belmont Abbey senior Mason Dodd is the second team second baseman, joining Francis Marion senior Todd Mattox at third base and Tusculum graduate student Bryson Ford at shortstop.

The second team outfield consists of Lenoir-Rhyne graduate student Drue Galassi, North Greenville redshirt junior Ethan Stringer and North Georgia junior Crews Taylor. North Greenville senior Brady West is the second team designated hitter, with UNC Pembroke redshirt junior River Ryan earning second team All-Region accolades at the utility spot.

The second team All-Region starting pitchers are junior Drew Moore from King, redshirt senior Tucker Smith of Georgia Southwestern and junior Reed Parris from Mount Olive. Senior Dylan Smith of Belmont Abbey is the second team All-Region relief pitcher. 

1st Team All-Region
C – John Michael Faile, North Greenville
1B – Hunter Shepherd, Catawba
2B – Daulton Martin, Tusculum
3B – Livan Reinoso, Erskine
SS – Isaac Bouton, Columbus State
OF – Tucker Greer, Young Harris
OF – Brandon Trammell, Tusculum
OF – Marek Chlup, North Greenville
DH – Nik Levensteins, North Georgia
UT – Gehrig Octavio, North Greenville
SP – Hunter Stevens, Mount Olive
SP – Bryan Ketchie, Catawba
SP – Brayden Coe, Carson-Newman
RP – Robbie Cowie, Catawba

2nd Team All-Region
C – Robert Brooks, Columbus State
1B – Benjamin Huber, Limestone
2B – Mason Dodd, Belmont Abbey
3B – Todd Mattox, Francis Marion
SS – Bryson Ford, Tusculum
OF – Drue Galassi, Lenoir-Rhyne
OF – Ethan Stringer, North Greenville
OF – Crews Taylor, North Georgia
DH – Brady West, North Greenville
UT – River Ryan, UNC Pembroke
SP – Drew Moore, King
SP – Tucker Smith, Georgia Southwestern
SP – Reed Parris, Mount Olive
RP – Dylan Smith, Belmont Abbey

Player of the Year: John Michael Faile, North Greenville
Pitcher of the Year: Hunter Stevens, Mount Olive
Coach of the Year: Robb Watt, Mount Olive