SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Eight members of the Samford baseball team earned Southern Conference honors when the league released its postseason baseball awards Tuesday afternoon.
 
Outfielder Jake Souders, catcher Cade Carr and relief pitcher Zak Spurrier were named first team All-SoCon, while outfielder Luke Boykin earned second team All-SoCon honors. Catcher Eddie Marshall was named to the All-Freshman team, while Carr, third baseman Parker McDonald, second baseman Jeffrey Ince and shortstop Gus Gandy were all named to the league's All-Defensive team.
 
Souders leads the team and ranks sixth in the SoCon with a .356 batting average. He also leads the team and is tied for fifth in the league in hits with 72, including nine doubles and 11 home runs, to go along with 44 RBI. Souders leads the team in multi-hit games with 23 and he had a team-high 16-game hit streak and a team-high 34-game reached base streak.
 
Carr currently ranks second on the team with a .349 average with nine doubles, 10 home runs and 40 RBI. Carr has 19 multi-hit games and nine multi-RBI games so far this season. Defensively, he has a .997 fielding percentage, and he has thrown out 13 runners attempting to steal a base.
 
Spurrier leads the team and is tied for second in the SoCon with six saves. He has posted a 3.23 ERA with a record of 3-3 in 30.2 innings of work. He has recorded 32 strikeouts, while allowing just 11 walks so far this season.
 
Boykin leads the team and ranks sixth in the Southern Conference in home runs with 17. He leads the squad and ranks ninth in the SoCon in RBI with 53. For the season, he has hit .307 and has a team-best .656 slugging percentage.
 
McDonald has been one of the top defensive third basemen in the league this season. He has posted a .967 fielding percentage and has been a part of six double plays. Ince has been equally impressive at second base, with a .974 fielding percentage and turning 14 double plays. Gandy has been phenomenal at shortstop as well, producing a .923 fielding percentage and turning 22 double plays.
 
Marshall, as a freshman, has hit 11 home runs and driven in 26 runs. He has a slugging percentage of .583.
 
Samford enters this week's SoCon Tournament, which will be held at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C., as the No. 3 seed. The Bulldogs will open play in the tournament on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. (CT) against the winner of the ETSU-UNC Greensboro game that will be played earlier on Wednesday.
 
2026 All-SoCon Baseball Team & Awards
 
Player of the Year
Chris Katz, Sr., OF, Mercer (Raleigh, NC)
 
Pitcher of the Year
Alec Bouchard, Jr., RHP, Wofford (Soddy Daisy, TN)
 
Freshman of the Year
Garrett Lambert, R-Fr., RHP, Mercer (Lilburn, GA)
 
Golden Glove Award (Defensive Player of the Year)
Aryan Patel, Sr., 3B, The Citadel (Hanahan, SC)
 
Coach of the Year
Craig Gibson, Mercer
 
First-Team All-SoCon
SP – Alec Bouchard, Wofford
SP – Garrett Lambert, Mercer
SP – Will Holmes, The Citadel
RP – Mason Snyder, Western Carolina
RP – Jess Ackerman, Mercer
RP – Zak Spurrier, Samford
C – Cade Carr, Samford
1B – Grayson Fitzwater, VMI
1B – Tristan Curless, ETSU
2B – Trent Turner, Western Carolina
SS – Titan Kamaka, Mercer
3B – Brant Baughcum, Mercer
OF – Chris Katz, Mercer
OF – Eli Stephens, Mercer
OF – Jake Souders, Samford
DH – Braydon Kersey, Mercer
 
Second-Team All-SoCon
SP – Michael Harpster, ETSU
SP – Andrew Buffkin, The Citadel
SP – Cullen Condon, Wofford
RP – Michael Gibson, The Citadel
RP – Andrew Garnett, Mercer
RP – Zane Davis, The Citadel
C – Cole Raile, VMI
C – Noah Quarless, Western Carolina
1B – Michael Gibson, The Citadel
2B – Ian Guanzon, ETSU
SS – Henry Ferguson, ETSU
3B – Jacob Budzik, UNC Greensboro
OF – Ben Timblin, Wofford
OF – Jamie Palmese, ETSU
OF – Luke Boykin, Samford
DH – Nate Conner, ETSU
 
2026 SoCon All-Freshman Team
Garrett Lambert, P, Mercer
Jaylen Jones, OF, Western Carolina
Brady Gold, SS, Wofford
Jayden Williams, OF, The Citadel
Evan Myers, P, Western Carolina
Eddie Marshall, C, Samford
Cooper Jones, P, ETSU
Tanner Berry, C, UNC Greensboro
Mason Ault, C, ETSU
Ethan Buffone, 2B, Mercer
Ayden West, P, UNC Greensboro
Buddy Baker, P, VMI
 
2026 SoCon All-Defensive Team
Aryan Patel, 3B, The Citadel
Grayson Fitzwater, 1B, VMI
Owen Prince, OF, VMI
Henry Ferguson, 2B, ETSU
Jayden Williams, OF, The Citadel
Parker McDonald, 3B, Samford
Jamie Palmese, OF, ETSU
Cade Carr, C, Samford
Jeff Ince, 2B, Samford
Niko Brini, OF, Wofford
Trent Turner, 2B, Western Carolina        
Gus Gandy, SS, Samford
 
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