FRISCO, Texas – After a stellar Southland Conference baseball season, the Southland Conference announced the 2025 All-Conference and Superlatives honors on Wednesday afternoon.
Armani Raygoza of UTRGV took home the conference's top honor of Player of the Year, while Damian Ruiz of Lamar was named Hitter of the Year. Brennan Stuprich of Southeastern was named Pitcher of the Year, while his head ball coach Bobby Barbier was named the Clay Gould Coach of the Year.
Additionally, Southeastern first-year flamethrower Brady St. Pierre was named Relief Pitcher of the Year, Victor Loa of UTRGV was named Newcomer of the Year, and Cermodrick Bland of SFA was named Freshman of the Year.
Raygoza is hitting .387/.478/.706 with 15 home runs, 17 doubles, 55 RBI, 43 runs scored, and two stolen bases in 49 games, including 47 starts at designated hitter and two at first base. Raygoza ranks 33rd in the NCAA and second in the SLC in total bases (137), 36th in the NCAA and first in the SLC in hits per game (1.53), 36th in the NCAA and second in the SLC in hits (75), 41st in the NCAA and second in the SLC in hitting (.387), 42nd in the NCAA and first in the SLC in slugging (.706), 71st in the NCAA and first in the SLC in home runs (15), and 74th in the NCAA and third in the SLC in doubles (17).
Raygoza is having one of the top individual seasons in program history, as he ranks fifth in home runs (15), seventh in total bases (137), tied for eighth in doubles (17), tied for 10th in RBI (55), and 13th in hits (75). He also has 21 home runs over the last two years, tied for the fourth-highest career total in program history.
Ruiz had a record-breaking season, leading the Cardinals with a .395 batting average, 1.139 on base + slugging percentage, 75 runs scored, 81 hits, 21 doubles, 49 walks, 127 total bases, .620 slugging percentage and .519 on base percentage. He broke the single-season program records for runs scored, hittings), and on- streak (32 gamebase streak (49 games). Ruiz leads the Southland Conference in batting average, on base percentage, runs scored, hits, doubles and walks. He also ranks second in the nation in runs scored.
Ruiz earned Southland Conference Hitter of the Week honors on Feb. 25 after going 12 for 18 (.667) in five games with one home run, five doubles, one triple, five singles and seven RBIs.
Stuprich was named the Southland's Pitcher of the Year. The redshirt senior from Kenner, Louisiana, owns a 9-4 win-loss record, 105 strikeouts and a 2.65 ERA. He ranks fifth nationally in wins and seventh in strikeouts. Stuprich also leads the Southland with a .197 batting average against. The right-hander owns several program career records He was a two-time 2025 SLC Pitcher of the Week and a D1Baseball Mid-Season All-American. Stuprich is also a member of the 2025 College Baseball Foundation's National Pitcher of the Year watch list.
St. Pierre was named the league's Relief Pitcher of the Year. The freshman from LaPlace, Louisiana, leads the Southland with nine saves, ranking 18th nationally. He has compiled a 1-1 win-loss record and a 3.77 ERA in 28.2 innings pitched, striking out 33 batters. Opponents are hitting just .198 off the right-hander. He is averaging more than a strikeout per inning and nearly half of his outings (10 of 21) have been longer than one inning.
One of 54 pitchers in NCAA Division I on the Pitcher of the Year Award Watch List, Loa is 5-1 with a 3.02 ERA. In 12 starts, he has pitched 53.2 innings, striking out 51 while allowing just 38 hits and 33 walks. Opponents are batting .198 off Loa, who has allowed just one hit in three starts and two hits in two starts. That means in five of his 12 starts, Loa has held opponents to two hits or fewer. After missing all of last season due to injury, Loa ranks 38th in the NCAA and second in the SLC in hits allowed per nine innings (6.37) and 58th in the NCAA and fifth in the SLC in ERA (3.02).
Bland is coming off a massive year at the plate in which he led the team with a .356 batting average and was second on the Lumberjacks with a .913 OPS. Bland caused problems for opposing teams all year on the bases, stealing 24 bases, second in the SLC. The Nacogdoches, Texas native finished the season strong, as over his last 14 games, he hit a blistering .471 with a 1.188 OPS, both of which led the 'Jacks in that span. He also led the team with 24 hits, 24 runs, four doubles, 15 walks, and stole a staggering 21 bases over those final 14 games. Bland stole at least one base in his final 13 games of the year, and he stole an SFA-record 6 bases on April 19th against Nicholls.
Barbier, in his second season at the helm of the program, was named the conference's Coach of the Year. SLU won the league's regular-season title, claiming the No. 1 seed in the Southland's upcoming postseason tournament. The native of Marrero, Louisiana, engineered a 12-win improvement in conference play, guiding the Lions to a 22-8 mark in league action and currently sits in at-large range in the RPI (50), making a 97-spot jump over the previous season.
Southeastern has been one of the top pitching and fielding teams in the nation this season, currently ranking third in shutouts, fourth in double plays, seventh in ERA and ninth in Hits allowed per 9 innings. The improvement has translated into the most overall wins for the program since 2018.
Player of the Year: Armani Raygoza, UTRGV
Hitter of the Year: Damian Ruiz, Lamar
Pitcher of the Year: Brennan Stuprich, Southeastern
Relief Pitcher of the Year: Brady St. Pierre, Southeastern
Newcomer of the Year: Victor Loa, UTRGV
Freshman of the Year: Cermodrick Bland, SFA
Clay Gould Coach of the Year: Bobby Barbier, Southeastern
2025 All-Southland Conference First Team
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
| C |
Steven Lancia |
UTRGV |
Sr. |
San Diego, Calif. |
| 1B |
Rob Liddington |
UIW |
Sr. |
Phoenix, Ariz. |
| 2B |
Matt Ryan |
Lamar |
Sr. |
Bethesda, Md. |
| SS |
TJ Salvaggio |
Southeastern |
Sr. |
Slidell, La. |
| 3B |
Easton Moomau |
UTRGV |
So. |
El Paso, Texas |
| OF |
Damian Ruiz |
Lamar |
So. |
Livingston, Texas |
| OF |
Conner Westenburg |
McNeese |
Sr. |
Porter, Texas |
| OF |
Dane Watts |
Southeastern |
Jr. |
Hammond, La. |
| DH |
Armani Raygoza |
UTRGV |
R-So. |
El Paso, Texas |
| UT |
Bryce Calloway |
New Orleans |
Sr. |
New Orleans, La. |
| SP |
Brennan Stuprich |
Southeastern |
R-Sr. |
Kenner, La. |
| SP |
Riely Hunsaker |
Lamar |
Jr. |
Pecuilar, Mo. |
| SP |
Victor Loa |
UTRGV |
R-Jr. |
Kenner, La. |
| RP |
Brady St. Pierre |
Southeastern |
Fr. |
LaPlace, La. |
2025 All-Southland Conference Second Team
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
| C |
Conner O'Neal |
Southeastern |
Sr. |
Waverly Hall, Ga. |
| 1B |
Jacob Sanchez |
UTRGV |
Gr. |
San Juan, Texas |
| 2B |
Thomas Williams |
UTRGV |
R-Jr. |
Huntington Beach, Calif. |
| SS |
Isaac Lopez |
UTRGV |
Gr. |
Edinburg, Texas |
| 3B |
Rocco Gump |
Northwestern State |
Sr. |
Chandler, Ariz. |
| OF |
Rhett Hendricks |
HCU |
Jr. |
Springfield, Mo. |
| OF |
Tristan Moore |
New Orleans |
R-Sr. |
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands |
| OF |
Reese Lipoma |
Northwestern State |
Sr. |
Gonzales, La. |
| DH |
Rey Mendoza |
UIW |
Gr. |
Eagle Pass, Texas |
| UT |
Giovanni Licciardi |
Southeastern |
R-Jr. |
Metairie, La. |
| SP |
Grant Edwards |
New Orleans |
Sr. |
Walker, La. |
| SP |
Blake Lobell |
Southeastern |
Jr. |
Holden, La. |
| SP |
Alexis Gravel |
McNeese |
Sr.. |
Repentigny, Quebec |
| RP |
Peyton Havard |
Lamar |
Sr. |
Bridge City, Texas |
2025 Southland Conference All-Defensive Team
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
| C |
Steven Lancia |
UTRGV |
Sr. |
San Diego, Calif. |
| 1B |
Austin Russell |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
Sr. |
Flower Mound, Texas |
| 2B |
Thomas Williams |
UTRGV |
R-Jr. |
Huntington Beach, Calif. |
| SS |
Isaac Lopez |
UTRGV |
Gr. |
Edinburg, Texas |
| 3B |
Easton Moomau |
UTRGV |
So. |
El Paso, Texas |
| LF |
Dane Watts |
Southeastern |
Jr. |
Hammond, La. |
| CF |
Conner Westenburg |
McNeese |
Jr. |
Porter, Texas |
| RF |
Parker Coley |
Southeastern |
Sr. |
Sterlington, La. |
| P |
Zach Garcia |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
Sr. |
New Braunfels, Texas |