Rock Hill, S.C. – The Winthrop Baseball team have been selected to finish second in the Big South Conference according to D1 Baseball. In addition, infielder Jaylen Hernandez was selected to win Freshman of the Year for the Big South while sophomore catcher Nicholas Badillo, who was voted to the Big South Conference Preseason All-Conference Team a few weeks ago, is projected to be a top prospect in the 2025 MLB Draft.
 
Hernandez, a Brooklyn, NY native, finished his prep playing days at highly touted P27 Academy in Lexington, SC. A perennial All-Tournament Selection in PG events and also a WWBA and BCS Tournament Champion, Hernandez was amongst the top hitters in the state in his time with P27 and was a standout in the Blue Chip Collegiate Baseball League in the summer of 2023.
 
Badillo had an outstanding freshman campaign in 2023. He played in 29 games, starting in 26 of them. Badillo also led the team in batting average (.360), slugging percentage (.540) and on-base percentage (.453).
 
Last season, Badillo's accomplishments led to a spot on the Big South All-Freshman Team and was also named the Big South Freshman of the Week on Mar. 27. His biggest highlight of the year was against Gardner-Webb on May 26. In the longest game in Big South Tournament history, Winthrop defeated the Runnin' Bulldogs in the first elimination game of the second day of the tournament in High Point's Truist Point Stadium by a final score of 10-9 in 15 innings on his walk-off single.
 
Redshirt junior right-handed pitchers Alex Logusch and Reese Lumpkin are also considered to be top prospects for this year's MLB Draft.
 
Logusch played in 16 games in 2023. His highlight of the season was against Charlotte at home on Apr. 25. Logusch took a no-hitter into the seventh inning as Winthrop defeated the 49ers 5-2. He ultimately finished the contest with one hit and one earned run while striking out nine batters, two shy of a career-high, resulting in him picking up his first win in Garnet and Gold.
 
For his efforts, he was named the Big South Starting Pitcher of the Week on May 1. Logusch finished the season leading the team in innings pitched (58.1), strikeouts (76) and games started (14). He also had a season-high 11 strikeouts vs. LIU at home on Feb. 17.
 
Lumpkin played in five games last season. In relief, he pitched a season-high 1.2 innings with one strikeout at The Citadel on Apr. 4. He had a season-low one walk vs. Cincinnati at home on Mar. 15 and had a season-low zero hits at Radford on May 6.
 
Infielder Colin Lombardo, a graduate transfer from Division III William Paterson University in New Jersey, arrives in Rock Hill as William Paterson's all-time leader in HBPs, and runs scored. A career .395 hitter with 39 2B's , 16 HR's and 33 stolen bases while also walking 91 times with only 51 strikeouts in 463 at bats. In his senior season in 2023, he hit .449 with 15 doubles and 5 HR's. Lombardo was awarded All-American, All-Region and All-Conference Selections during his time in the Garden State.
 
Winthrop went 28-28 overall and 15-12 in the Big South Conference last season. The full story from D1 Baseball can be found HERE.