Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Skip navigation

Nolan Schanuel Wins Player of the Year, Three Other Owls Honored



Conference USA announced Tuesday the 2023 Baseball Superlative Awards along with the league’s all-conference and all-freshman teams. After a superb regular season at the plate, Florida Atlantic’s Nolan Schanuel was crowned C-USA Player of the Year. UTSA right-hander Simon Miller was dominant in the back end of the bullpen and holds the league lead in ERA (1.83) on his way to being named C-USA Pitcher of the Year.
 
DBU designated-hitter Ethan Mann, was named the C-USA Newcomer of the Year, while his teammates Nathan Humphreys and Grant Jay won Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, respectively. DBU’s Dan Heefner was named the Keith LeClair Coach of the Year, while his pitching coach Micah Posey earned the Assistant Coach of the Year honor.
 
DBU had the most first-team All-Conference selections with four, while nine of the league's teams had at least one representative on an all-conference team. Middle Tennessee garnered the most selections on the All-Freshman Team with three.
 
Schanuel, a Boynton Beach, Florida, native, finished the regular season ranked first nationally in batting average (.460), on-base percentage (.623) and walks (67), while also ranking third in slugging percentage (.888). The junior first baseman concluded the regular season on a 51-game reached-base streak and is currently a semifinalist for the 2023 Golden Spikes Award.

In addition to Schanuel, Jackson Ross was named to the first team, Dylan Goldstein earned second team honors, and Tyler Murphy was voted as a member of the all-freshman team.

"I am incredibly honored and blessed to win Player of the Year," commented Schanuel. "My heartfelt gratitude goes to my teammates and coaches whose unwavering support and guidance have been invaluable on this journey."

"Well deserved, added head coach John McCormack. "I haven't seen a guy have a year like Nolan is having in my whole college career. He works hard, he cares, he's diligent. He deserves it."
 
Miller finished the regular season with a 8-1 record, 11 saves in 64 innings pitched all out of the Roadrunner bullpen. The junior right-hander owned the nation’s lowest ERA for the majority of the season and currently ranks fifth with a 1.83 ERA.
 
Mann, a transfer from New Mexico State, hit .318 with 17 home runs, a 1.149 OPS and paced the league with 68 RBI. His .699 slugging percentage ranked fifth in C-USA as he ripped 12 doubles while crossing the pay station 53 times.
 
Humphreys manned centerfield for the Patriots as he boasted a .991 fielding percentage in 109 chances with three outfield assists. The sophomore from Midlothian, Texas, snagged highlight reel catches all season long as their defensive anchor.
 
Jay burst on the scene for DBU in his rookie season, finishing the regular season with the second-most home runs in the conference (19) and the ninth-highest batting average (.335). The true freshman racked up 17 multi-hit games while also recording three multi-homer performances.
 
After leading DBU to the regular season title in their first year in the league, Heefner was selected as the Keith LeClair Coach of the Year. The Patriots finished 25-5 in conference play and 42-13 in the regular season. DBU won all 10 of their conference series and has wins over Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.
 
Posey, in his third season as pitching coach for the Patriots, led the pitching staff to the lowest team-ERA (4.51) in the conference while they tossed three shutouts as a squad. The Patriot staff ranked 14th nationally in K/9 (10.6) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.68).
 
Player of the Year
Nolan Schanuel, Jr., INF, Florida Atlantic
 
Pitcher of the Year
Simon Miller, Jr., RHP, UTSA
 
Newcomer of the Year
Ethan Mann, R-Jr., DH, DBU
 
Defensive Player of the Year
Nathan Humphreys, So., OF, DBU
 
Freshman of the Year
Grant Jay, C/OF, DBU
 
Keith LeClair Coach of the Year
Dan Heefner, DBU
 
Assistant Coach of the Year
Micah Posey, DBU
 
First Team All-Conference
C – Jorge Corona, Jr., LA Tech
INF – Nolan Schanuel, Jr., Florida Atlantic
INF – Antonio Valdez, Sr., UTSA
INF – Brett Coker, Sr., Middle Tennessee
INF – Jackson Ross, Sr., Florida Atlantic
OF – Cam Fisher, So., Charlotte
OF – Grant Jay, Fr., DBU
OF – Alec Sanchez, R-Sr., FIU
SP – Ryan Johnson, So., DBU
SP – Parker Smith, So., Rice
SP – Wyatt Hudepohl, Jr., Charlotte
SP – Jaden Hamm, Jr., Middle Tennessee
RP – Simon Miller, Jr., UTSA
RP – Kyle Amendt, R-Jr., DBU
DH – Ethan Mann, R-Jr., DBU
UTIL – Ethan Bates, Jr., LA Tech
 
Second Team All-Conference
C – Kaden Hopson, Jr., Charlotte
C – Josh Killeen, Sr., UTSA
INF – Kodie Kolden, Sr., DBU
INF – Miguel Santos, Jr., DBU
INF – Leyton Barry, Sr., UTSA
INF – Jack Dragum, Sr., Charlotte
OF – Nathan Humphreys, So., DBU
OF – Caleb Hill, Jr., UTSA
OF – Dylan Goldstein, Jr., Florida Atlantic
SP – Jonathan Fincher, R-Sr., LA Tech
SP – Luke Malone, Sr., UTSA
SP – Braxton Bragg, Jr., DBU
SP – Dawson Hall, Fr., WKU
RP – Ethan Bates, Jr., LA Tech
RP – Brady Rose, Jr., DBU
DH – Ryne Guida, Jr., FIU
UTIL – Sammy Diaz, Sr., UTSA
 
All-Freshman Team
*Grant Jay, C/OF, DBU
Roylan Quevedo, INF, FIU
Tyler Murphy, RHP, Florida Atlantic
Ollie Akens, RHP, Middle Tennessee
Patrick Johnson, RHP, Middle Tennessee
Jared Vetetoe, C/OF, Middle Tennessee
Ben Royo, INF, Rice
Nick Hollifield, C, UAB
Ruger Riojas, RHP, UTSA
Lukas Farris, INF/OF, WKU
Dawson Hall, RHP, WKU
 
*Freshman of the Year
 
Several members of the All-Conference and All-Freshman Teams, as well as all of the superlative award-winners will be in action this week at the 2023 C-USA Baseball Championship in Houston, Texas. Championship action begins with a four-game slate from Reckling Park starting at 9 a.m. CT on Wednesday, May 24.

Related content

Rating

Unrated