IRVING, Texas – The American Athletic Conference has announced baseball honors for the 2023 season. Wichita State junior Brock Rodden has been named The American’s Player of the Year, while Memphis senior Dalton Fowler has been selected as the Pitcher of the Year. Houston junior Justin Murray and Wichita State junior Grant Adler were picked as the Newcomer Position Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively. South Florida freshman Eric Snow has been named the Defensive Player of the Year, while Loren Hibbs of Wichita State was chosen as the Coach of the Year.
Six of The American’s eight teams had at least one selection on the All-Conference First Team, including Wichita State, which led with five. East Carolina led all teams with 10 selections between the first and second teams. Six schools had honorees on The American’s first Freshman All-Conference Team.
Player of the Year
Brock Rodden, Jr., 2B, Wichita State
Rodden leads The American in runs driven in at 61 and is top-5 in multiple offensive categories, including batting average (.360), home runs (16), hits (77), runs scored (59) and doubles (17). He was named the 2022 Newcomer Position Player of the Year and is the first Shocker to be named The American’s Player of the Year.
Pitcher of the Year
Dalton Fowler, Sr., Memphis
Fowler is 5-5 on the season with a 4.02 ERA and 104 strikeouts. His ERA ranks fourth in The American, while his 104 strikeouts top the league and are 19th nationally. The senior has six outings this season with eight or more strikeouts. Fowler is the first Tiger to be named Pitcher of the Year.
Newcomer Position Player of the Year
Justin Murray, Jr., 1B, Houston
Murray is hitting .365 with eight home runs and 51 runs driven in. His batting average ranks second in The American, while his RBI total is fifth in the conference. In addition to his prowess at the plate, the junior has nine saves on the season on the mound.
Newcomer Pitcher of the Year
Grant Adler, Jr., Wichita State
Adler leads The American with a 2.41 ERA (14th nationally) and is 5-3 with 72 strikeouts. He allowed one run or less in seven starts this season, including a three-hit complete game shutout of East Carolina on April 23.
Defensive Player of the Year
Eric Snow, Fr., SS, South Florida
Snow leads The American with 139 assists and has posted a fielding percentage of .976 with only five errors in 211 chances. The freshman has been part of 19 double plays this season. Snow becomes the first player to earn the Defensive Player of the Year honor.
Coach of the Year
Loren Hibbs, Wichita State
Hibbs has led the Shockers to a 30-23 record and a third-place finish in The American’s regular season standings, the highest finish for Wichita State since they joined The American in 2018.
Player of the Year
Brock Rodden, Jr., 2B, Wichita State
Pitcher of the Year
Dalton Fowler, Sr., Memphis
Newcomer Position Player of the Year
Justin Murray, Jr., 1B, Houston
Newcomer Pitcher of the Year
Grant Adler, Jr., Wichita State
Defensive Player of the Year
Eric Snow, Fr., SS, South Florida
Coach of the Year
Loren Hibbs, Wichita State
First-Team All-Conference
P – Trey Yesavage, So., East Carolina*
P – Dalton Fowler, Sr., Memphis*
P – Grant Adler, Jr., Wichita State
P – Clark Candiotti, Jr., Wichita State
RP – Dalton Kendrick, Jr., Memphis
C – Ben McCabe, R-Sr., UCF
1B – Justin Murray, Jr., Houston
2B – Brock Rodden, Jr., Wichita State*
SS – Eric Snow, Fr., South Florida*
3B – Zach Arnold, Jr., Houston
OF – Carter Cunningham, Jr., East Carolina
OF – Bobby Boser, So., South Florida
OF – Drew Brutcher, Jr., South Florida
OF – Chuck Ingram, Jr., Wichita State
DH – Andrew Sundean, So., UCF
DH – Jacob Jenkins-Cowart, So., East Carolina
UTL – Payton Tolle, So., Wichita State
Second-Team All-Conference
P – Josh Grosz, Jr., East Carolina
P – Carter Spivey, Sr., East Carolina
P – Jack Cebert, So., South Florida
P – Ricky Castro, Gr., Tulane
RP – Jace Miner, So., Wichita State
C – Justin Wilcoxen, Jr., East Carolina
1B – Josh Moylan, Jr., East Carolina
2B – Jacob Starling, Jr., East Carolina
SS – Joey Berini, Jr., East Carolina
3B – Logan Kohler, Jr., Memphis
OF – Luke Nowak, So., East Carolina
OF – Teo Banks, So., Tulane
OF – Kyte McDonald, Jr., Wichita State
UTL – Kerrington Cross, R-So., Cincinnati
Freshman All-Conference
Drew Faurot, INF, UCF*
Cameron Leiter, P, UCF*
Chase Horst, P, Cincinnati
Griffin Hugus, P/UTL, Cincinnati
Zach Root, P, East Carolina*
Luke Ellis, P, Memphis
JR Jimerson, OF, Memphis
Rafael Betancourt, P, South Florida
Eric Snow, SS, South Florida*
Jack Little, INF, Wichita State
Nate Snead, P, Wichita State
* - unanimous selection