SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Five Bulldogs garnered Southern Conference Postseason accolades on Tuesday, headlined by Tony David earning SoCon Coach of the Year, Jacob Cravey winning Pitcher of the Year, Lucas Steele garnering Coaches Freshman of the Year, and Jayden Davis taking home Media Freshman of the Year.

Cravey and Davis were both named to the Coaches and Media First Team while John Anderson picked up Media Team First Team Honors and Coaches Second Team honors. Junior reliever Ben Petschke was named to the Coaches Second team while Davis and Steele both were tabbed to the SoCon All-Freshman squad.

"I'm excited for our guys to receive the recognition for their outstanding seasons," Head Coach Tony David said. "Cravey has been the horse for us all season long, and the last two seasons for that matter, and is very deserving of Pitcher of the Year. "John has delivered so many big-moment home runs late in games and Ben slid right into the closer role after some injuries. I also just can't say enough about the years Jayden and Lucas had as true freshman at this level."
 
Cravey marks the first Bulldog to take home pitcher of the year honors since Zach Hester was tabbed media pitcher of the year in 2019. The Andalusia, Ala. native posted a 9-2 record on the season, marking the most wins by a SoCon pitcher this season. Cravey also led the league with 114 strikeouts, a mark that ranked fourth nationally in the 2023 regular season. He additionally led the conference with 90.1 innings pitched, ranked second with a 3.39 earned run average and third with a .213 opponents' batting average.
 
Davis posted a .372 batting average that ranked seventh in the SoCon during the regular season and an average of .415 in conference play that ranked sixth-best in the league. His benchmark accomplishment this season is an ongoing 37-game hitting streak that marks the longest hitting streak in Samford Baseball history and SoCon history. The freshman infielder has posted 23 multi-hit games while ranking sixth in the SoCon with a .473 on-base percentage and ninth with 73 base hits.
 
Steele finished the 2023 regular season ranking second on the squad with 15 homers, 14 doubles, and 47 RBI. The freshman outfielder slugged a league-high nine doubles in SoCon play while finishing fifth in the league with eight homers belted against SoCon competition. Steele and Davis mark the first freshmen to take home SoCon Freshman of the Year honors since Sonny
DiChiara in 2019.
 
Anderson led the SoCon with 21 home runs during the 2023 regular season while ranking third with 55 RBI and a .687 slugging percentage. The Oakwood, Ga. native slugged a league-high .923 in SoCon play, in addition to recording a conference-best 13 home runs and 34 RBI against SoCon opponents. Anderson needs just three more home runs to break the Samford single-season record set by Brandon Miller in 2012.
 
Petschke logged a SoCon-best 13 saves in the regular season, ranking him third in the nation and sitting just two behind Andrew Jones (2011) for most saves by a Bulldog in a single season. The Wexford, Pa. native comes into postseason play with a 4-2 record and a 4.26 ERA, notching 55 strikeouts in 44.1 innings pitched. Petschke's 2.86 ERA in SoCon games ranked second in the conference during the regular season.
 
Coach David led the Bulldogs to a Southern Conference Regular Season Championship in just his second season at the helm, finishing the conference slate with a record of 15-6 to earn the Bulldogs the top seed in the 2023 SoCon Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases. Samford posted a series win in six of seven SoCon weekends while leading the league with a .622 slugging percentage, 49 doubles, and 58 homers against conference competition. Despite losing impactful arms in Michael Ross, Alex Goff, Carson Hobbs, and Blake Bortak due to injury the Samford pitching staff led the SoCon with 471 batters struck out and 17 saves while ranking second in the league with a 5.50 team ERA in conference games.

"I view the Coach of the Year stuff as a Coaching Staff of the Year," David said. "I am biased but feel like we have one of the best staffs in the country with the group we assembled."
 
The Bulldogs will begin play in the SoCon Baseball Championship at 8:00 p.m. (CST) in hopes of capturing the program's first tournament title since 2021.

Coaches All-Southern Conference Teams
 
Player of the Year
Ryan Galanie, Sr., 1B, Wofford
 
Pitcher of the Year
Jacob Cravey, Jr., RHP, Samford
 
Freshman of the Year
Lucas Steele, OF, Samford
 
Coach of the Year
Tony David, Samford
 
First team
SP – Nathanial Tate, Sr., ETSU
SP – Jacob Cravey, Jr., Samford
RP – Lucas Mahlstedt, So., Wofford
C – Cole Garrett, Jr., VMI
1B – Ryan Galanie, Sr., Wofford
2B – Jayden Davis, Fr., Samford
SS – Pascanel Ferreras, Jr., Western Carolina
3B – Justin Starke, R-Jr., VMI
OF – Treyson Hughes, So., Mercer
OF – Kennedy Jones, So., UNCG
OF – Cole Jenkins, Jr., VMI
DH – Eric Toth, Gr., Mercer
 
Second team
SP – Cameron Reeves, Sr., The Citadel
SP – Matthew Marchal, Sr., Wofford
RP – Ben Petschke, Jr., Samford
C – Cameron Gill, Sr., Wofford
1B – Cameron Sisneros, Jr., ETSU
2B – Ty Swaim, Jr., VMI
SS – Zac Morris, R-Jr., VMI
3B – Dixon Black, Jr., Wofford
OF – Nick Iannantone, Jr., ETSU
OF – Jozsef Rohrbacher, Sr., Mercer
OF – Trey Morgan, R-Jr., VMI
DH – John Anderson, Jr., Samford
 
All-Freshman Team
Will Holmes, The Citadel
Cody Miller, ETSU
Ty Dalley, Mercer
Julien Peissel, UNCG
Luke Thomas, UNCG
Jayden Davis, Samford
Lucas Steele, Samford
Grayson Fitzwater, VMI
Jimmy Koza, VMI
Ryan White, Western Carolina
Zac Cowan, Wofford
Branton Little, Wofford
Charlie Weber, Wofford


SCSMA All-Southern Conference Teams
 
Player of the Year
Ryan Galanie, Sr., 1B, Wofford
 
Pitcher of the Year
Jacob Cravey, Jr., RHP, Samford
 
Freshman of the Year
Jayden Davis, 2B, Samford
 
Coach of the Year
Tony David, Samford
 
First team
SP – Nathanial Tate, Sr., ETSU
SP – Jacob Cravey, Jr., Samford
RP – Lucas Mahlstedt, So., Wofford
C – Cole Garrett, Jr., VMI
1B – Ryan Galanie, Sr., Wofford
2B – Jayden Davis, Fr., Samford
SS – Pascanel Ferreras, Jr., Western Carolina
3B – Justin Starke, R-Jr., VMI
OF – Treyson Hughes, So., Mercer
OF – Kennedy Jones, So., UNCG
OF – Cole Jenkins, Jr., VMI
DH – John Anderson, Jr., Samford
 
Second team
SP – Cameron Reeves, Sr., The Citadel
SP – Josh Farmer, Sr., Mercer
SP – Coulson Buchanan, So., Wofford
RP – Cade Carlson, Jr., ETSU
C – Cameron Gill, Sr., Wofford
1B – Cameron Sisneros, Jr., ETSU
2B – Ty Swaim, Jr., VMI
SS – Sawyer Reeves, So., The Citadel
3B – Dixon Black, Jr., Wofford
OF – Nick Iannantone, Jr., ETSU
OF – Jackson Cherry, So., Mercer
OF – Jozsef Rohrbacher, Sr., Mercer
DH – Eric Toth, Gr., Mercer

 
 FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS:
 For the latest news and information on Samford baseball, visit the official website for Samford Athletics at SamfordSports.com. Fans can also follow the Bulldogs on social media at /SamfordBaseball (Facebook), @SamfordBaseball (Instagram) and @SamfordBaseball (Twitter).