NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference announced its postseason baseball all-conference teams and specialty awards Monday afternoon. Four Texas State players were named to one of the two all-conference squads while Connor Reich and head coach Ty Harrington picked up specialty honors.
 
Selected to the All-Sun Belt First Team was Jaxon Williams and Reich while Nicholas Fraze and Jaylen Hubbard were both second team all-conference honorees. Reich was also named the Community Coffee Pitcher of the Year and Harrington was recognized as the Community Coffee Ron Maestri Coach of the Year.
 
Reich concluded the regular season with an 8-1 record and leading the conference in victories. His win total is also the most by a Bobcat pitcher since 2014. The senior right-hander struck out 86 and posted a 3.96 ERA that rank fourth and ninth in the Sun Belt, respectively, in 86.1 inning of work. He is the first Bobcat to bring home a conference's pitcher of the year award since Travis Ballew in 2012.
 
The Hallsville, Texas native earned the first Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week accolade this season after throwing 6.1 scoreless innings, allowing a lone hit and striking out seven with no walks in a 10-0 win over Missouri State. He would go on to strikeout 10 against Arkansas State for his third career game with double-digit strikeouts.
 
Williams hit .322 with 67 hits, eight doubles and five home runs in his first season in a TXST uniform. The junior second baseman has scored 54 runs, tied for the fifth most in the league, and plated 29. He has also drawn 37 walks to post a .432 on-base percentage that ranks 10th in the Sun Belt. The Rosenberg, Texas native was also selected to the 2019 Shriners College Classic All-Tournament in helping the team finish second.
 
Fraze wrapped up the regular season with a 6-3 record and 4.38 ERA in 86.1 innings. The junior right-hander recorded 79 strikeouts, the seventh most in the conference. Against Sun Belt opponents, he went 4-1 with a 4.09 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 61.2 innings spanning 10 starts.
 
His best performance of the season came in the opener of the 2019 Shriners College Classic when he threw seven shutout innings, allowed just one hit and struck out a career-high 12 in a 1-0 victory over Rice. That game earned him the tournament's Most Out Standing Player award along with being selected to the Collegiate Baseball National Team of the Week and Sun Belt Community Coffee Pitcher of the Week.
 
For Hubbard, it is the second time he has been named to the all-conference second team as he also picked up the honor in 2017. This season saw him hit .322 with 67 hits, 17 doubles and a team leading four triples and eight homers. The senior third baseman has scored 58 runs to share the Sun Belt lead while recording 30 RBIs. He ranks seventh in on-base percentage (.442) and 11 in slugging percentage (.558) in the conference for a 1.000 OPS. Earlier this season, Hubbard was selected to the Shriners College Classic All-Tournament team.
 
Harrington was named the Sun Belt's Coach of the Year after leading Texas State to its first regular season championship since joining the conference. The team's 36 total victories and 20 conference wins are both the highest total since the 2011 campaign. It is the third time in his career he has received a league's coach of the year award. The previous two came in 2011 and 2009 when a member of the Southland Conference.
 
The Bobcats open the Sun Belt Championship on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. CT. They will take on the lowest remaining seed between Appalachian State (#9), Louisiana (#8) and ULM (#10) from the single-elimination games.
 
All-Sun Belt Baseball First Team
Chandler Fidel, Little Rock, SP
Seth Shuman, Georgia Southern, SP
Connor Reich, Texas State, SP
Zach Greene, South Alabama, RP
Chase Smartt, Troy, C
Zach Biermann, Coastal Carolina, 1B
Jaxon Williams, Texas State, 2B
Hayden Cantrelle, Louisiana, SS
Chad Bell, ULM, 3B
Parker Chavers, Coastal Carolina, OF
Mason McWhorter, Georgia Southern, OF
Ethan Wilson, South Alabama, OF
Todd Lott, Louisiana, Utility
Riley Pittman, Little Rock, DH
 
All-Sun Belt Baseball Second Team
Hunter Gaddis, Georgia State, SP
Nicholas Fraze, Texas State, SP
Cory Gill, Troy, SP
Andrew Gross, UT Arlington, RP
Kyle Skeels, Coastal Carolina, C
Sadler Goodwin, Troy, 1B
Steven Curry, Georgia Southern, 2B
Drew Frederic, Troy, SS
Jaylen Hubbard, Texas State, 3B
Kieton Rivers, Coastal Carolina, OF
Orynn Veillon, Louisiana, OF
Rigsby Mosley, Troy, OF
Andrew Beesley, ULM, Utility
Jake Wright, Coastal Carolina, DH
 
Community Coffee Player of the Year
Ethan Wilson, South Alabama (Freshman, OF)
 
Community Coffee Pitcher of the Year
Connor Reich, Texas State (Senior, RHP)
                                        
Community Coffee Freshman of the Year
Ethan Wilson, South Alabama (Freshman, OF)
 
Community Coffee Newcomer of the Year
Jake Wright, Coastal Carolina (Sophomore, OF)
 
Community Coffee Ron Maestri Coach of the Year
Ty Harrington, Texas State
 
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