FRISCO – Nicholls first baseman Caston Thompson and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi starting pitcher Easten Smith picked up the Southland Baseball Player of the Week awards for the second week of the 2026 season, which were announced Monday by the conference office.

Hitter of the Week: Caston Thompson, Nicholls - Jr. - INF - Jayess, Miss. (Brookhaven Academy)
Caston Thompson had an outstanding week for the Colonels as he recorded 12 hits, including three doubles and two home runs. While batting .462 and slugging .808, he also scored seven times and earned three free passes. He had three multi-hit games against UTM, including a 4-for-4 day, to help the Colonels win their first game of the season. 
Honorable Mention: Julius Ramirez, UTRGV

Pitcher of the Week: Easten Smith, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi  - Jr. - RHP - Glenn Heights, Texas (Red Oak HS)
Smith was the Islanders' best pitcher during the week, tallying 7.2 scoreless innings across two different outings against power conference opponents Texas A&M and Pittsburgh. He first started things off with a start against the 24th-ranked Aggies in College Station on Tuesday, keeping the high-powered offense off the scoreboard in his three innings of work while allowing just one hit. He then earned the win against the Panthers in the finale of the Kleberg Bank College Classic on Sunday, starring over 4.2 innings of relief while punching out five and allowing just two baserunners in total. During this game, Smith escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth upon being summoned before then retiring 12 of the final 14 hitters of the game to secure the power conference victory.

2026 Southland Baseball Players of the Week

Date	Hitter of the Week	Pitcher of the Week
Feb. 16	Cade Sanchez, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Chris Olivier, Lamar
Feb. 23	Caston Thompson, Nicholls	Easten Smith, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

Southland weekly award winners are nominated and voted upon by each school’s sports information director. Voting for one’s own athlete is not permitted. To earn honorable mention, a student-athlete must appear on 25 percent of ballots.