SUWANEE, Ga. – Led by Pitcher of the Year and First Team selection Otto Franz of Concordia University (Texas), 18 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) baseball student-athletes earned recognition with the release of the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings All-Region 10 (West) Region team on Tuesday.
It marks the 21st consecutive season the SCAC has had five or more student-athletes land on an ABCA/Rawlings All-Region team. The 18 total student-athletes recognized in the most in league history, breaking the previous high of 17 set back in 2011.
Concordia and Trinity paced all SCAC programs with five selections, while McMurry followed with three honorees, St. Thomas and Texas Lutheran placed two student-athletes on squad and Southwestern rounded out the league selections with one.
The teams are voted on by members of the American Baseball Coaches Association and the process is led by the ABCA NCAA Div. III All-America & Coach of the Year Committee.
Franz, a graduate-student and SCAC Pitcher of the Year from Austin, Texas put together an outstanding season in leading the Tornados to their second-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and eighth in program history. He led the SCAC in wins (9), innings pitched (95.2), shutouts (2) and WHIP (1.10). His 95.2 innings pitched are the most in a single SCAC season since 2018 when TLU’s Dylan Drgac tossed 121.1 innings. Franz also finished the season fourth in strikeouts (67) and second in complete games with three. This year marks the second-straight season the SCAC has landed the ABCA/Rawlings Pitcher of the Year honors after Trinity’s Jackson Teer shared the honor last season.
Joining Franz on the First Team was his teammate Colby Christian and McMurry’s Michael Smosna.
Christian, a power hitting outfield from Porter, Texas, was named First Team All-SCAC earlier this month after producing once of the most productive seasons in recent history. He led the SCAC in RBI (66) and home runs (16), finished second in total bases (126), fourth in doubles (17) and fifth in slugging percentage (.677). His 66 RBI are tied for the 13th most in a single season in SCAC history and is currently eight in all NCAA Division III this season, while his 16 home runs are tied for the third most in a single season in SCAC history and is currently ranked tied for 15th in the country.
Smosna, a junior catcher from Lubbock, Teas, was instrumental in leading McMurry to the program’s fifth NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 2008. A First Team All-SCAC honoree, currently leads the SCAC in hits (79) and total bases (135) and sits second in doubles (18), triples (7) and batting average (.439). His 58 RBI on the year was good enough for fourth in the SCAC, while his eight home runs were ranked eighth in the league.
As an ABCA/Rawlings All-Region First Team selection, the trio was also nominated for ABCA/Rawlings All-America honors. The ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Div. III All-America teams will be announced on Thursday, May 29.
The SCAC also landed an impressive eight student-athletes on the ABCA/Rawlings Second Team All-Region. The Second Team honorees included, Trinity senior catcher Nicholas Lanzzara, Concordia senior first baseman Kalen Clark, St. Thomas junior second baseman Alex Trinh, Concordia graduate student outfielder Zach Seigrist, Trinity senior outfielder Maddox McDonald, Trinity senior designated hitter Brandon Nelson, Concordia junior relief pitcher Ralph Wallace III and McMurry junior pitcher Hunter Poe. All eight honorees earned All-SCAC accolades earlier in the month, including First Team designation for Trinh, McDonald and Nelson.
Rounding out the SCAC ABCA/Rawlings All-Region recipients were seven Third Team honorees. The Third Team honorees included, Southwestern senior catcher James Vaquero, St. Thomas senior first baseman Dillon McKee, McMurry junior third baseman Riley Hood, Texas Lutheran junior shortstop Chase Bourgeois, TLU junior outfielder Kash Durkin, Trinity first-year relief pitcher Will Taylor and Trinity sophomore relief pitcher Brandon Morio.
The ABCA All-America team was first recognized in 1949 and now includes nine divisions: NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA Divisions I, II and III, Pacific Association Division, and high school. ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove teams were first recognized in 2007.
To view the entire ABCA/Rawlings All-Region 10 Team, click here.
