RUSTON, Louisiana – After guiding No. 22 Charlotte to its first Conference USA Regular Season Championship and leading the league in doubles and total bases, Charlotte sophomore INF
Austin Knight was named the 2021 C-USA Player of the Year. Knight, a Tennessee transfer, also garnered C-USA Newcomer of the Year honors and is one of four student-athletes in the nation with 50 runs, 70 hits and 50 RBI. Southern Miss senior
Walker Powell, the league’s leader in wins (9), was named C-USA Pitcher of the Year. The league’s baseball awards were announced on Tuesday in Ruston, Louisiana, site of the 2021 Air Force Reserve C-USA Baseball Championship.
Old Dominion INF
Carter Trice was named C-USA Freshman of the Year, while Louisiana Tech senior INF
Taylor Young won the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award. Charlotte’s
Robert Woodard was named the Keith LeClair Coach of the Year, while Southern Miss pitching coach
Christian Ostrander earned the Assistant Coach of the Year honor.
West Division champ Louisiana Tech had the most first-team All-Conference selections with five, while Southern Miss was next with four. Old Dominion led the way with seven total all-conference choices. Nine of the league’s teams had at least one representative on an all-conference team. Charlotte garnered the most selections on the C-USA All-Freshman team with three, while Old Dominion and Southern Miss each placed two freshmen on the squad. Voting was done by a panel consisting of each head coach, each team’s media relations director and a media representative from each city.
Knight is the third consecutive C-USA Player of the Year that was also named C-USA Newcomer of the Year. The transfer from Tennessee enters the C-USA Championship batting .355 with 56 RBI on 77 hits. On the season, Knight enjoyed three different hit streaks of 11+, 20 multi-hit games, 13 multi-RBI games and hit over .300 in 10 series. The sophomore was also named the C-USA Hitter of the Week on April 26 and was the league’s sole representation on the Golden Spikes Award midseason watch list.
Powell, a preseason All-American, has won 15 of his last 17 decisions and gone at least 5.0 innings in 22 of his last 24 starts. He is tied for second in school history in wins (28) and ranks first in NCAA Division I active career leaders for wins (29) and third in innings pitched (327.2). The senior threw the school’s first no-hitter since 2019 and first complete-game no-no since 2004 against Middle Tennessee on May 8. He leads the team in wins (9) and has a 9-2 mark with a 2.56 ERA. Powell earned C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors twice in ’21 and six times in his career.
Trice exploded on the C-USA scene with a powerful bat this spring, ranking in the top 10 in eight key offensive categories. He led all C-USA freshmen and was second in the conference in batting average (.364), slugging (.652) and total bases (129). An all-around offensive juggernaut, he also ranked in the top 10 in runs (50), hits (72), doubles (15), triples (3), home runs (12) and RBI (48). He is the second Old Dominion player to earn C-USA Freshman of the Year honors.
Young started all 52 games and ranks 2nd in the nation and first in the conference with 68 runs scored. He ranks sixth in the C-USA with a .448 on-base percentage and is tied for seventh in the league in hits (65) and doubles (15). Young Is the only infielder in conference with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. The senior has amassed 16 multi-hit games and 18 multi-run games this season and posted a team-best 25-game reached-base streak earlier this year.
After leading Charlotte to its first Conference USA regular season championship in program history, Woodard earned the Keith LeClair Coach of the Year honor. The Niners finished 24-8 in conference play and 39-17 overall in Woodard’s second year as a head coach and first full season at the helm following the 2020 season’s cancelation due to Covid-19. This year’s Niner squad won six of eight series in C-USA play and has non-conference wins over North Carolina and Tennessee on its resume. It is Woodard’s first C-USA Coach of the Year honor.
Ostrander, the Golden Eagles’ pitching coach, earned the Assistant Coach of the Year award. Under Ostrander’s tutelage, Southern Miss maintained one of the strongest bullpens in C-USA. His pitching staff that leads the league in ERA (3.53) and fewest walks (105) and did not hit 100 walks until game 50 The staff is on pace to allow its fewest free passes since 1980. Pitchers have recorded seven complete games and seven shutouts, the most they have blanked an opponent since 2015. The team has had at least seven shutouts in each of his three full seasons. The Golden Eagles are 20-0 this season when they allow 2 or fewer runs and 30-8 when they allow five runs or less. Ostrander has mentored two no hitters during his stint, including one complete-game, seven inning no-no in 2021. The team is looking to register 500+ strikeouts for only the seventh time under his steady instruction.
2021 All-Conference Awards
Player of the Year
Austin Knight, So., 3B, Charlotte
Pitcher of the Year
Walker Powell, Sr., RHP, Southern Miss
Freshman of the Year
Carter Trice, Fr., 2B, Old Dominion
Defensive Player of the Year
Taylor Young, Sr., 2B, Louisiana Tech
Newcomer of the Year
Austin Knight, So., 3B, Charlotte
Keith LeClair Coach of the Year
Robert Woodard, Charlotte
Assistant Coach of the Year
Christian Ostrander, Southern Miss
1st Team All-Conference
IF Austin Knight, So., Charlotte
IF Taylor Young, Sr., Louisiana Tech
IF Hunter Wells, Sr., Louisiana Tech
IF Carter Trice, Fr., Old Dominion
OF Parker Bates, Sr., Louisiana Tech
OF Kyle Battle, Sr., Old Dominion
OF Reed Trimble, Fr., Southern Miss
C Nick Thornquist, Sr., UTSA
DH Charlie Fischer, So., Southern Miss
UT Manny Garcia, Sr., Louisiana Tech
SP Bryce McGowan, So., Charlotte
SP Jonathan Fincher, Jr., Louisiana Tech
SP Hunter Gregory, Jr., Old Dominion
SP Hunter Stanley, Sr., Southern Miss
SP Walker Powell, Sr., Southern Miss
RP Christian Lothes, Fr., Charlotte
RP David Zoz, Sr., Middle Tennessee
2nd Team All-Conference
IF Nolan Schanuel, Fr., Florida Atlantic
IF B.J. Murray, So., Florida Atlantic
IF Tommy Bell, Jr., Old Dominion
IF Griffin Paxton, Sr., UTSA
OF Andy Garriola, Jr., Old Dominion
OF Gabe Montenegro, Jr., Southern Miss
OF Jackson Gray, So., WKU
C Aaron McKeithan, So., Charlotte
DH Will Butcher, Fr., Charlotte
UT Cade Edwards, Sr., Rice
SP Hunter Cooley, So., Florida Atlantic
SP Aaron Brown, Jr., Middle Tennessee
SP Ryne Moore, Jr., Old Dominion
SP Ben Ethridge, Fr., Southern Miss
RP Jason Hartline, Jr., Old Dominion
RP Ryan Och, So., Southern Miss
All-Freshman Team
INF Gino Groover, Charlotte
INF Adrian Figueroa, FIU
INF Nolan Schanuel, Florida Atlantic
INF Carter Trice, Old Dominion
INF Chandler Simpson, UAB
OF Cole McConnell, Louisiana Tech
OF Reed Trimble, Southern Miss
DH Will Butcher, Charlotte
DH Nathan Becker, Rice
SP Ben Ethridge, Southern Miss
RP Christian Lothes, Charlotte
RP Noah Dean, Old Dominion