FRISCO – UIW outfieldier Jake Weaver and Lamar starting pitcher Chris Olivier picked up the Southland Baseball Player of the Week awards for the fifth week of the 2026 season, which were announced Monday by the conference office.

Hitter of the Week: Jake Weaver, UIW - Sr. - OF - Waco, Texas (Midway HS)
Weaver powered the UIW Cardinals baseball offense to a 3–1 week, highlighted by a dominant conference series win at New Orleans. The senior hit .412 (7-for-17) with two home runs, two doubles, nine RBI, and six runs scored while posting an .882 slugging percentage and 1.326 OPS. Weaver delivered his biggest performance on Sunday, going 2-for-5 with a pair of home runss and four RBI. 
Honorable Mention: Joe Siervo, Northwestern State and Thomas Williams, UTRGV

Pitcher of the Week: Chris Olivier, Lamar - Sr. - RHP - Mandeville, La. (Lakeshore HS)
Chris Olivier threw a two-hitter in 7.2 innings with 12 strikeouts improving to 3-0. He only walked two batters in Lamar's 5-0 win over McNeese in Game 2. Olivier struck out his final six batters of the night, including striking out the side in the seventh. Olivier has recorded three double-digit strikeout performances at home. Olivier drops his ERA to 0.84 while he has fanned 44 batters in 32.1 innings pitched.

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
Mar. 2	Matt Stancliff, McNeese	Chris Olivier, Lamar
Mar. 9	Armany Raygoza, UTRGV Levi Castilleja, HCU	Eric Nachtsheim, McNeese
Mar. 16	Jake Weaver, UIW	Chris Olivier, Lamar

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.