Gantt repeats as SAC Coach of the Year; #4 Baseball nets 10 All-Conference, five All-Defense selections

Rock Hill, S.C. —- The 4th-ranked and South Atlantic Conference champion Catawba College baseball team raked in the honors on Thursday, as the league's all-conference teams and major award winners were announced.

Jim Gantt was named the 2025 South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year, earning the award in back-to-back seasons and for a league-record 13th time. Gantt has once again led the Catawba Indians to a top ranking in the Southeast Region, while eclipsing the 1,000 career win mark back in February.

Dylan Driver earned a First Team selection in the outfield, while also picking up the All-Defense honor in right field. Now a senior, Driver earns his third All-Conference selection of his career, picking up First Team honors for the first time. He leads the team with 65 hits with a team-best 10 homers.

Cole Hales was the team's other First Team selection in the field, earning the league's top honor at third base. Hales enjoyed a breakout season with the Catawba Indians, recording a team-best .404 batting average through the regular season with 17 extra-base hits and a team-high 42 runs driven in with 30 walks. Hales was part of a nearly complete all-defense infield for Catawba with a .966 fielding percentage at the hot corner with 62 assists to just three errors.

Payne Stolsworth picked up First Team honors for the second straight year at starting pitcher, leading the team with nine victories on the mound across a team-high 81 innings pitched, including four complete games with three complete-game shutouts in conference play, recording a 3.22 earned-run average and a 1.06 WHIP. Stolsworth also earned the league's all-defense honor as a pitcher, recording 20 assists to just one error.

Hunter Atkins was tabbed a Second Team outfield selection in his first season with Catawba after transferring from UNC Greensboro. The redshirt freshman is hitting .329 on the season, which included a scorching March in which he hit .457, along with a team-high 13 doubles.

Sam Hunter completed the sweep of Catawba outfielders earning all-conference honors, picking up Second Team consideration for the second straight season in Salisbury. Hunter leads the league with a single-season program-record 32 stolen bases this year, while riding a hot April with a nearly .400 batting average to raise his season-long mark to .311.

Nathan Chrismon earned Second Team All-SAC honors at shortstop in his first season with the club. Like Hunter, Chrismon is enjoying a hot bat in April, hitting .426 for a season-long .302 batting average with 10 doubles and 17 stolen bases. Chrismon added All-Defense honors with a .975 fielding percentage with 119 assists this season, including 78 assists to just one error in conference play.

Sean Shelly was tabbed the Second Team DH in his first season at Catawba. The junior has hit .367 with an on-base percentage of .490 in split-time opportunities with three doubles, a triple and four homers with 24 RBI in just 29 games played.

Hayden Simmerson was named the Second Team pick at relief pitcher, while leading the nation with 14 saves as Catawba's closer, racking up 59 strikeouts to just 13 walks in 49 innings pitched with two wins on the mound to boot. The 2024 SAC Freshman of the Year totes a 1.50 ERA in conference play with just 16 hits allowed in 30 innings with 34 strikeouts to just six walks, converting eight saves.

James Dunlap is the Third Team first baseman, bringing a veteran presence to the top of Catawba's lineup with a steady 61 hits with 12 doubles and a team-low 15 strikeouts among regular starters. The North Dakota State transfer has started each of Catawba's 49 games this season with innings played at each of the infield positions.

Casey Gouge earned Third Team all-conference honors at starting pitcher, solidifying himself as a weekend arm for the Catawba Indians as a junior, with a career-best 3.57 ERA across 63 innings of work, with five wins on the mound and 51 strikeouts to 20 walks. Gouge earned SAC and Southeast Region Pitcher of the Week honors in a standout performance in a pivotal matchup with Carson-Newman.

Ty Hubbard was tabbed the All-Defense selection at second base, completing an all-league middle infield with high school teammate Chrismon. Hubbard racked up 103 assists and 74 putouts to just one error, while helping the Catawba Indians 30 double plays, a category in which Catawba ranks in the top ten in the country.

Catawba returns to action this weekend back at Newman Park, hosting the SAC Opening Round starting with 8th-seeded Newberry at 2 p.m. on Friday.