NEW ORLEANS – App State starting pitcher
Xander Hamilton and outfielder
CJ Boyd have been named first-team All-Sun Belt honorees, the conference announced today. It marks the second time that App State has garnered multiple first-team selections since joining the conference in 2015.
Hamilton has enjoyed one of the most dominant strikeout seasons in the nation, finishing the regular season eighth in the country with 109 strikeouts in 82.0 innings pitched (11.96 K/9). His strikeout total led Sun Belt pitchers during the regular season and is the most by an App State pitcher in single-season history.
Hamilton struck out nine or more batters in seven of his 14 starts, including a program-record 15 batters against No. 8 Coastal Carolina on May 5 as part of eight scoreless, one-hit innings in an 11-0 Mountaineer triumph. Hamilton also struck out 13 batters on the road against Louisiana on March 31, earning Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week honors after both outings. Hamilton finished the regular season with eight wins, tied for fifth most among Sun Belt pitchers, while winning seven Sun Belt starts. App State went 11-3 in his starts this season, including 8-2 in Sun Belt play.
Boyd posted an incredible finish to the 2023 season, homering nine times in the Mountaineers' final 11 regular-season games. In Sun Belt play, Boyd finished in the top-10 in the league in hits (2nd - 46), slugging (4th – .782), OPS (3
rd – 1.213), home runs (T-3
rd – 12) batting average (4
th – .387) doubles (T-7
th – 11), and RBI (10th – 33). He was named the Sun Belt Player of the Week last Tuesday, following an outstanding weekend against Arkansas State. Boyd hit four home runs in the series, going for 7-for-14 (.500) at the plate, while also doubling, scoring seven runs, and driving in seven more.
Boyd has hit safely in 14 consecutive games, going 31-for-68 (.456) over that span, raising his season average by 73 points, to .353, which ranks 10
th in the Sun Belt. The ECU transfer also ranks fifth in slugging percentage (.688). Boyd finished the regular season with 14 home runs, 14 doubles and 10 stolen bases, becoming the first Mountaineer since Wes Hobson (2010) to boast double-digit homers, doubles, and steals in the same season.
The duo led the Mountaineers to a program-record 16 Sun Belt victories and a sixth-place finish in the conference standings. App State will face third-seeded Troy in the Sun Belt Tournament at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Ala. App State looks to improve on a 27-win regular season, its most victories since the 2013 campaign.
2023 Sun Belt Baseball Postseason Awards
Player of the Year
Shane Lewis, Troy (RS So., OF – Vicksburg, Miss.)
Pitcher of the Year
Tanner Hall, Southern Miss (Jr., P – Zachary, La.)
Newcomer of the Year
Shane Lewis, Troy (RS So., OF – Vicksburg, Miss.)
Freshman of the Year
Caden Bodine, Coastal Carolina (Fr., C – Haddon Heights, N.J.)
Tony Robichaux Leadership Award
JP Tighe, Georgia Southern (Sr., C/OF – Dalton, Ga.)
Ron Maestri Coach of the Year
Gary Gilmore, Coastal Carolina
All-Sun Belt First Team
P Xander Hamilton, App State (Jr., P – Raleigh, N.C.)
P Tanner Hall, Southern Miss (Jr., P – Zachary, La.)
P Grayson Stewart, Troy (RS So., P – Dothan, Ala.)
RP Teddy Sharkey, Coastal Carolina (Jr., RP – Wall, N.J.)
C Caden Bodine, Coastal Carolina (Fr., C – Haddon Heights, N.J.)
1B Hunter Fitz-Gerald, Old Dominion (Jr., 1B – Margate, Fla.)
2B Jesse Sherrill, Georgia Southern (Sr., 2B – Pensacola, Fla.)
SS Dustin Dickerson, Southern Miss (Jr., SS – Laurel, Miss.)
3B Caleb Bartolero, Troy (Sr., 3B – Woodstock, Ga.)
OF CJ Boyd, App State (So., OF – Lewisville, N.C.)
OF Nick Lucky, Coastal Carolina (Super Sr., OF – Denver, Pa.)
OF Shane Lewis, Troy (RS So., OF – Vicksburg, Miss.)
UT Cameron Jones, Georgia State (Jr., UT – Kathleen, Ga.)
DH Derek Bender, Coastal Carolina (So., DH – Murrells Inlet, S.C.)
All-Sun Belt Second Team
P Ryan Watson, Georgia State (Sr., P – Sugar Hill, Ga.)
P Sam Armstrong, Old Dominion (Jr., P – Wantage, N.J.)
P Levi Wells, Texas State (Jr. P – La Porte, Texas)
RP Noah Manning, Troy (Jr., RP – Minooka, Ill.)
C Julian Brock, Louisiana (Jr., C. – Fulshear, Texas)
1B Zack Beach, Coastal Carolina (Sr., 1B – Mechanicsville, Va.)
2B Payton Eeles, Coastal Carolina (Super Sr., 2B – Acworth, Ga.)
SS Kyle DeBarge, Louisiana (So., SS – Kinder, La.)
3B Danny Lynch, Southern Miss (Sr., 3B – Jupiter, Fla.)
OF Graham Brown, Coastal Carolina (Sr., OF – Middletown, Md.)
OF Fenwick Trimble, James Madison (So., OF – Virginia Beach, Va.)
OF Will Turner, South Alabama (So., OF – Auburn, Ala.)
UT Jack Cone, James Madison (Gr., UT – Fairfax Station, Va.)
DH Max Ryerson, Georgia State (Sr., DH – Conway, S.C.)
