FRISCO, Texas – McNeese senior outfielder Payton Harden is the 2022 Southland Conference Baseball Student-Athlete of the Year, the league announced Wednesday along with the all-academic teams.
The Southland Conference Player of the Year, Harden boasts a 3.82 GPA in mass communications-public relations. He became just the fifth Cowboy to earn the top honors from the league and the first since 1994 (Deron Hofstetter). The 2022 All-Conference first-team selection and ABCA All-South Region Team member led the Southland in hitting (.378), total hits (85), triples (4) and stolen bases (26). His 85 base-hits ranked tied as the second-most in a single season in school history while his 252 career hits are two away from matching the school's all-time mark of 254.
Harden, who hails from Atascocita, Texas, was one of four all-academic first team members for regular-season champion McNeese. The Cowboys and Nicholls led the way with five selections total, followed by tournament champion Southeastern with four selections. All eight schools had at least one representative on both first and second teams.
Four individuals own a perfect 4.00 GPA in McNeese seniors Reid Bourque, Julian Gonzales and Southland Relief Pitcher of the Year Cameron Foster, along with Northwestern State sophomore Drayton Brown.
UIW’s Ridge Rogers garnered his third all-academic nod, while Gonzales and Southeastern’s Evan Keller were also repeat selections.
Southland All-Academic teams are voted on by the head coach, sports information director and an academic staff member from each member school. Student-athletes must possess a minimum 3.00 cumulative GPA and have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution to qualify. Nominees who were on the all-conference first team are automatically named Southland All-Academic.
The Southland Conference awards committee, which consists of one administrator from each of the eight member schools, votes for the Student-Athlete of the Year. Student-Athlete of the Year candidates must have earned at least a 3.20 GPA and demonstrated athletics achievement for at least two years at the nominating institution.
2022 Southland Conference Baseball Student-Athlete of the Year: Payton Harden, McNeese
2022 Southland Conference Baseball All-Academic First Team
| Name |
School |
Class |
GPA |
Major |
| Jared Burch |
HBU |
Sr. |
3.53 |
Business Administration |
| Ridge Rogers3 |
UIW |
Sr. |
3.91 |
Rehabilitative Science |
| Grant Smith* |
UIW |
Jr. |
3.60 |
Biology |
| Reid Bourque |
McNeese |
Sr. |
4.00 |
HHP-Sports & Wellness Management |
| Cameron Foster* |
McNeese |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Behavioral Sciences |
| Julian Gonzales*2 |
McNeese |
Sr. |
4.00 |
Biology Pre Med |
| Payton Harden^* |
McNeese |
Sr. |
3.82 |
Mass Communication-Public Relations |
| Tyler LeBlanc |
New Orleans |
So. |
3.54 |
Finance |
| Alec Paz |
Nicholls |
Gr. |
3.00 |
Master’s, Higher Education |
| Drayton Brown |
Northwestern State |
So. |
4.00 |
Business Administration |
| Alex Makarewich |
Northwestern State |
So. |
3.92 |
Industrial Engineering Technology |
| Evan Keller2 |
Southeastern |
Sr. |
3.79 |
Chemistry |
| Rhett Rosevear |
Southeastern |
So. |
4.00 |
Occupational Safety, Health & Environment (OSHE |
| Brandon Petkoff |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
Sr. |
3.86 |
Mathematics |
2022 Southland Conference Baseball All-Academic Second Team
| Name |
School |
Class |
GPA |
Major |
| Brennen Bales |
HBU |
Sr. |
3.53 |
Interdisciplinary Studies |
| Andrew Reitmeyer |
HBU |
Sr. |
3.40 |
Kinesiology-Sport Management |
| Nixon Brannan |
UIW |
Jr. |
3.85 |
Business Administration |
| Chance Stone |
McNeese |
Sr. |
3.66 |
HHP-Pre-Physical Therapy |
| Kasten Furr |
New Orleans |
Jr. |
3.19 |
Finance |
| Collin Kulivan |
New Orleans |
Gr. |
3.83 |
Master’s, Finance |
| Parker Coddou |
Nicholls |
So. |
3.58 |
Business Administration |
| Devin Desandro |
Nicholls |
So. |
3.51 |
Health Sciences |
| Nico Saltaformaggio |
Nicholls |
So. |
3.80 |
Business Administration |
| Dane Simon |
Nicholls |
Sr. |
3.71 |
Health Sciences |
| Daunte Stuart |
Northwestern State |
Jr. |
3.20 |
Electronics Engineering Technology |
| Will Kinzeler |
Southeastern |
So. |
3.49 |
Kinesiology |
| Gage Trahan |
Southeastern |
Gr. |
3.33 |
Master of Business Administration |
| Josh Caraway |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
Sr. |
3.50 |
Finance |
^ Student-Athlete of the Year
* Automatic selection
2 Two-time all-academic selection
3 Three-time all-academic selection
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