RUSTON – Conference USA announced Tuesday the 2024 Baseball Superlative Awards along with the league’s all-conference and all-freshman teams. After a superb regular season at the plate and on the mound, Louisiana Tech’s Ethan Bates was crowned CUSA Player of the Year. DBU right-hander Ryan Johnson was dominant on Friday night’s and posted a league-best 1.81 ERA on his way to being named CUSA Pitcher of the Year.
 
DBU third baseman Michael Dattalo was named the CUSA Newcomer of the Year, while his teammate Luke Pettitte won Freshman of the Year and Sam Houston’s Walker Janek won Defensive Player of the Year. DBU’s Dan Heefner and LA Tech’s Lane Burroughs were named the Keith LeClair Co-Coaches of the Year, while Cliff Pennington of DBU earned the Assistant Coach of the Year honor.
 
DBU had the most first-team All-Conference selections with six, while LA Tech boasted five. All nine of the league's teams had at least one representative on an all-conference team. Liberty garnered the most selections on the All-Freshman Team with three.
 
Bates, a Hot Springs, Arkansas, native, finished the regular season tied for first nationally in saves as the Bulldog closer (15). He posted a 2-1 record in relief for LA Tech with a team-high 31 appearances all while hitting .328 with 15 home runs, a league-best 20 doubles, 69 RBI and an OPS of 1.049.
 
Johnson finished the regular season with a 10-2 record, 141 strikeouts in 94.1 innings pitched all on Friday nights for the Patriots. The junior right-hander owns the third-lowest ERA in the nation, third most strikeouts (141) and third-best strikeout-to-walk ratio (11.75). Johnson also became the first Patriot ever to join the 300-strikeout club.
 
Dattalo, a transfer from Northwestern State, hit .342 with eight home runs, 14 doubles and 42 RBI. To end the regular season, the sophomore third baseman collected a hit in 21 out of the final 22 regular season games for the Patriots.
 
Janek, the Bearkat backstop, boasts a .987 fielding percentage while hosing down 15 baserunners attempting to steal. The junior from Portland, Texas, is on the Buster Posey Award watch list, was ranked by D1Baseball.com as the No. 2 catcher in the country and was most recently a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist.
 
Pettitte became a part of the weekend rotation for the Patriots as a true freshman and posted a 4.17 ERA in eight starts. The Houston, Texas, native, logged 36.2 innings of work while striking out 43 to just nine walks. The right-hander racked up a career-high nine strikeouts in 5.0 innings back on March 30 in the series finale with New Mexico State.
 
Burroughs and Heefner were named the Keith LeClair Co-Coaches of the Year after leading their respective squads to the top of the league in 2024. Burroughs led LA Tech to the regular season title in his eighth season at the helm after a 41-15 overall record and an 18-6 mark in CUSA. The Bulldogs swept four conference series’ and ended the year winners of six straight. Heefner earns his second honor after guiding the Patriots to the highest overall win percentage (.755) and top RPI (21) in CUSA. DBU was ranked as high as No. 7 in the nation this season as they seek their 10^th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.
 
Pennington’s work with DBU infielders has been pivotal as the Patriots own the second-highest fielding percentage in the nation (.983). On the offensive side, he has helped lead a DBU offense that ranks 22^nd in doubles per game (2.25), 23^rd in doubles (119), 18^th in slugging (.539), 20^th in home runs (102) and 18^th in home runs per game (1.92).  
 
Player of the Year
Ethan Bates, LA Tech
 
Pitcher of the Year
Ryan Johnson, DBU
 
Defensive Player of the Year
Walker Janek, Sam Houston
 
Newcomer of the Year
Michael Dattalo, DBU
 
Freshman of the Year
Luke Pettitte, DBU
 
Keith LeClair Co-Coaches of the Year
Dan Heefner, DBU
Lane Burroughs, LA Tech
 
Assistant Coach of the Year
Cliff Pennington, DBU
 
First Team All-Conference
C: Walker Janek, Sam Houston
INF: Chayton Krauss, DBU
INF: Miguel Santos, DBU
INF: Brennen Norton, Jax State
INF: Dalton Davis, LA Tech
OF: Ethan Mann, DBU
OF: Cole McConnell, LA Tech
OF: Keith Jones II, NM State
SP: Jaron DeBerry, DBU
SP: Ryan Johnson, DBU
SP: Luke Nichols, LA Tech
SP: Coltin Atkinson, Sam Houston
RP: Conner Mackay, DBU
RP: Sam Broderson, LA Tech
DH: Ryne Guida, FIU
UTL: Ethan Bates, LA Tech
 
Second Team All-Conference
C: Grant Jay, DBU
INF: Michael Dattalo, DBU
INF: Luke Heefner, DBU
INF: Brylan West, FIU
INF: Caleb Johnson, Jax State
OF: Armando Becerra, FIU
OF: Kane Kepley, Liberty
OF: Titus Dumitru, NM State
SP: Cole Hertzler, Liberty
SP: Chandler Alderman, MTSU
SP: Michael Watson, Sam Houston
SP: Dawson Hall, WKU
RP: Orlando Hernandez, FIU
RP: Chandler David, Sam Houston
DH: Tom Poole, DBU
UTL: Trace Phillips, MTSU
 
All-Freshman Team
*Luke Pettitte, DBU
Gabe Young, Jax State
Ben Blair, Liberty
Macaddin Dye, Liberty
Tanner Marsh, Liberty
Grant Comeaux, LA Tech
Chandler Alderman, MTSU
Trace Phillips, MTSU
Steve Solorzano, NM State
Jace Martinez, Sam Houston
Ryan Peterson, Sam Houston
Drew Whalen, 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 2024 CUSA Baseball Championship in Ruston, Louisiana. Championship action begins with a four-game slate from J.C. Love Field starting at 9 a.m. CT on Wednesday, May 22.