Charlotte, N.C. - The Winthrop baseball program had two players named to the 2024 Big South all-conference teams, the league announced Wednesday morning.
Riley Huge and
Parker Kruglewicz were named to the second team, while
Jaylen Hernandez and
Owen Sarna were named to the all-freshman team and
Parker Whittle was named to the all-academic team for the second straight year.
Huge finished the year tied for 10th in the nation in strikeouts with 111, which was good for 2nd in the Big South and 1st on the team. Riley pitched 66.2 innings and went 5-5 this season in 13 games played, leading the team in wins with five. Against Maine on Mar. 2, Huge put together a stat line for the ages, pitching a season-high 7.2 innings, giving up just one hit, two walks and a career-high 20 strikeouts, breaking the Eagle single-game strikeout record that had previously stood for 21 seasons (Kevin Slowey struck out 19 vs. NYIT on Apr. 12, 2003). The 20 strikeouts was the most by any NCAA pitcher since 2017. For his efforts this season, he was named the Big South Starting Pitcher of The Week in consecutive weeks on Feb. 27 and Mar. 4. With his performance vs. Maine, Huge was also named the National Pitcher of the Week on Mar. 4 by the NCBWA, Perfect Game and the NCAA.
Kruglewicz finished 2024 tied for 1st in the Big South and on the team in saves with seven. He pitched 29.2 innings in relief this season with a record of 0-3 in 23 games played. He was also 3rd on the team in ERA.
Hernandez had himself a terrific freshman season. He finished tied for 7
th in the Big South in doubles with a team-leading 15 doubles. He started in all 45 games he played in, finishing the season with 157 at-bats. He was tied for the team lead in games started and home runs with seven. Hernandez also led the team in RBI's with 30 and walks with 19. He was named the Big South Freshman of the Week on May 6, which was the first weekly award of his career.
Sarna finished 9
th in the Big South in overall pitching with an ERA of 4.74. His most notable performances this season were pitching a season-high 6.0 innings vs. Longwood on Mar. 17 and a season-high six strikeouts vs. Maine on Mar. 3. Sarna ended his freshman campaign having pitched 49.1 innings this season with a record of 4-4 in 13 games played. He was 2
nd on the team in ERA and wins with four. Sarna started nine games, striking out 38 batters, which is good for 4
th on the team.
Whittle pitched in 35.1 innings in 27 games in relief, with two saves and 33 batters struck out. Off the field, Whittle was this year's recipient of the Big South 2024 Graduate Fellowship Award.
The All-Conference and All-Freshman teams are voted by the head coaches, while the All-Academic Team consists of one student-athlete from each institution that meets the criteria and is nominated and selected by the league's sports information directors.
2024 BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE BASEBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
FIRST-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
OF Joel Dragoo, Jr., Presbyterian College
OF Robbie Burnett, Jr., UNC Asheville
OF Cade Conway, Sr., Charleston Southern
INF Cael Chatham, Gr., High Point
INF Grant Sherrod, Sr., USC Upstate
INF Brody Fahr, Sr., Presbyterian College
INF Alec Burns, Sr., Gardner-Webb
C Eric Grintz, Gr., High Point
UTL Noah Sullivan, R-Soph., USC Upstate
DH Peyton Carr, R-Jr., High Point
SP Daniel Eagen, Jr., Presbyterian College
SP Gus Hughes, Sr., High Point
SP Charlie McDaniel, Sr., Presbyterian College
RP Connor Maggi, Jr., Gardner-Webb
RP Evan Truitt, Jr., Charleston Southern
SECOND-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
OF Koby Kropf, Jr., USC Upstate
OF Jace Rinehart, Jr., USC Upstate
OF Cameron Pittman, Jr., Radford
INF Troy Hamilton, Sr., USC Upstate
INF Chandler Tuupo, Soph., Charleston Southern
INF Noah Campanelli, Gr., Longwood
INF Ty Kaufman, Sr., UNC Asheville
C Jackson Hugus, Jr., Presbyterian College
UTL Zack Whitacre, Gr., Radford
DH Jake Randolph, Soph., Presbyterian College
SP
Riley Huge, Sr., Winthrop
SP Noah Sullivan, R-Soph., USC Upstate
SP Henry Proger, Sr., USC Upstate
RP Cael Chatham, Gr., High Point
RP
Parker Kruglewicz, Sr., Winthrop
RP Drew Stanley, Jr., Radford
HONORABLE MENTION ALL-CONFERENCE
Adam Stuart, INF, Gr., High Point
Hayden Harris, INF, Sr., Longwood
Conner Butler, INF, Gr., Radford
Matt Little, SP, Gr., High Point
Colby Guy, SP, Jr., UNC Asheville
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Vance Sheahan, INF, USC Upstate
Jaylen Hernandez, INF, Winthrop
Cooper Ellingworth, P, USC Upstate
Owen Sarna, P, Winthrop
Blagen Pado, OF, Longwood
Breckin Nace, UTL, Radford
Darren Kuskie, P, USC Upstate
ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Sam Massey, P, Sr., Charleston Southern
Alec Burns, INF, Gr., Gardner-Webb
Adam Stuart, SS, Gr., High Point
Dominick D'Ercole, P, Gr., Longwood
Charlie McDaniel, P, Sr., Presbyterian
Zack Whitacre, INF/OF, Gr., Radford
Cole Schiff, P, Jr., UNC Asheville
Henry Proger, P, Sr., USC Upstate
Parker Whittle, P, Sr., Winthrop
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Joel Dragoo, OF, Jr., Presbyterian College
PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Daniel Eagen, Jr., Presbyterian College
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Cade Conway, OF, Sr., Charleston Southern
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Vance Sheahan, INF, USC Upstate
COACH OF THE YEAR
Elton Pollock, Presbyterian College
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Adam Stuart, SS, Gr., High Point
