BOONE, N.C. – App State outfielder
Banks Tolley and shortstop
Austin St. Laurent have been named to the ABCA/Rawlings All-Atlantic Region teams, the committee announced Tuesday.
Tolley earned first-team recognition, while St. Laurent garnered second-team honors. It marks the first time that App State Baseball has been represented on the all-region teams since Hector Crespo in 2013. App State was one of just three Sun Belt schools and one of just five programs in the state of North Carolina to land multiple players on all-region teams.
"This is a tremendous accomplishment," head coach
Kermit Smith said. "Both Banks and Austin have taken full advantage of their opportunities since arriving at App State and this recognition is not only a testament to their hard work, but it is also a testament to the effort and energy of their teammates and our staff to help them develop into the best versions of themselves."
Tolley produced one of the best individual seasons in program history. The Madison, Miss., native set the single-season program record with 26 home runs, blowing past the previous record of 17.
The senior led the Sun Belt in home runs (26), slugging percentage (.781) and OPS (1.265) while ranking second in batting average (.379) and RBIs (77), fourth in on-base (.484), fifth in runs scored (70) and tied for seventh in hits (85) on his way to being named the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year and a first team all-conference selection.
Tolley tallied five multi-homer games and registered the second three-homer game in program history, culminating with a walk-off blast in the 10th inning for a win over Georgia Southern on May 16 to secure the Mountaineers a top-six seed in the Sun Belt Tournament.
He also posted 27 multi-hit games and 21 multi-RBI games, hitting safely in 29 of his final 35 contests. Tolley set the App State single-season record for home runs (26), RBIs (77) and total bases (175). He ranks second in single-season history for runs scored (70) and slugging (.781).
St. Laurent started all 55 games on the season, slashing .366/.424/.618 with 12 doubles, 14 home runs and 60 RBIs.
He finished the season tied for first in the Sun Belt in triples (four), third in runs scored (78), tied for third in hits (90), sixth in batting (.366), 10th in slugging (.618) and 10th in OPS (1.042).
The Elon, N.C., native tallied 29 multi-hit games, had 16 multi-RBI games and reached base in each of the final 24 games of the season, tallying an 11-game hitting streak during that span.
His 14 home runs on the season more than doubled his total of six from his first two years combined. A first-team All-Sun Belt selection, St. Laurent set the single-season program record for runs scored and ranks ninth in career runs scored (146).
The duo helped the Mountaineers post a 33-win season, their most victories since 2012, and advance to the Sun Belt Tournament semifinals for the second consecutive year.
2024 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Div. I All-Region Teams: Atlantic
NCAA Div. I Atlantic All-Region First Team
Pos. Player Cl. School State
C Cole Messina Jr. South Carolina SC
1B Tanner Thach So. UNC Wilmington NC
1B Nick Kurtz Jr. Wake Forest NC
2B Blake Wright Sr. Clemson SC
3B Alec Makarewicz Gr. North Carolina State NC
SS Griff O'Ferrall Jr. Virginia VA
OF Banks Tolley Sr. App State NC
OF Vance Honeycutt Jr. North Carolina NC
OF Joel Dragoo Jr. Presbyterian SC
DH Caleb Cozart Sr. UNC Greensboro NC
P Trey Yesavage Jr. East Carolina NC
P Daniel Eagen Jr. Presbyterian SC
P Chase Burns Jr. Wake Forest NC
P Nate Knowles Jr. William & Mary VA
RP Charlie Beilenson Gr. Duke NC
NCAA Div. I Atlantic All-Region Second Team
Pos. Player Cl. School State
C Jacob Ference Gr. Virginia VA
1B Carter Cunningham Sr. East Carolina NC
2B Zac Morris Gr. Duke NC
3B Ben Miller Gr. Duke NC
SS Austin St. Laurent Jr. App State NC
OF Ethan Petry So. South Carolina SC
OF Harrison Didawick So. Virginia VA
OF Ben Watson Gr. Virginia Tech VA
DH Grant Knipp Jr. Campbell NC
P Aidan Knaak Fr. Clemson SC
P RJ Sales Jr. UNC Wilmington NC
P Zac Cowan So. Wofford SC
RP Wyatt Lunsford-Shenkman Jr. East Carolina NC
Complete list of All-Region Teams
