University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com
Six Baseball Players Earn Sun Belt All-Conference Honors; Harris, Ostrander Earn Individual Awards
5/18/2026 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Southern Miss baseball saw six players earn All-Sun Belt Conference accolades Monday afternoon, with left-hander Grayden Harris (Central, La.) taking home the Pitcher of the Year award and Christian Ostrander earning Coach of the Year honors.
Joining Harris on the first team were starting pitcher Camden Clark (Laurel, Miss.), first baseman Matthew Russo (Madisonville, La.), second baseman Kyle Morrison (Wetumpka, Ala.) and outfielder Davis Gillespie (Birmingham, Ala.). Relief pitcher Colby Allen (Louisville, Miss.) was named to the second team.
In 14 starts this season, Harris posted an 8-1 record with a 3.10 ERA that included wins over Oregon State, Louisiana Tech, Arkansas State, Louisiana and Texas State. He leads the team with 93 strikeouts, including a season-high 13 against North Alabama (3/7), as well as in innings at 78 1/3. He threw at least five innings in 12 starts and at least six innings seven times. He was named Sun Belt, NCBWA and to the Baseball America Team of the Week once during the year.
He is the second Golden Eagle to win Pitcher of the Year in the school's four-year Sun Belt history – Tanner Hall won it in 2023 – and the eighth Southern Miss recipient to win a league top pitcher award since 2010.
As for Clark, he started the season as the Southern Miss closer and made the switch to the rotation over the final half of the year. He has tallied an 8-0 record with five saves in 21 appearances, which also includes five starts. His pitcher numbers entailed 73 strikeouts and just seven walks in 46 innings of work and opponents are hitting just .199, while his WHIP being at 0.89. Clark was also named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year midseason watch list. He posted a season-high 15 strikeouts versus ULM (5/2), which was the most strikeouts by a Golden Eagle pitcher since Hall posted that many against Arkansas State on April 30, 2023.
One of four Golden Eagles to start in all 54 games, Russo finished the regular season at a .313 batting average with 12 doubles, 10 home runs and a team-best 50 RBI. The first baseman has been hit by a pitch 20 times in 2026 and is second on the school's career chart with 60. He also is tied for the team lead in both multiple-hit and multiple-RBI games. He enjoyed a team-best 29-game, reached base streak at one point and has hit .436 (17x39) over the last 10 games with six doubles, two home runs and 14 RBI. He is also responsible for three of the Golden Eagles seven game-winning RBI this season and has six for his career. In addition, he is a member of the Lou Gehrig Community Impact Team.
In his only season with the Golden Eagles, Morrison has posted a .322 average with a team-best 15 home runs and 45 RBI as he started in all 54 games. He leads the team in both on-base percentage (.427) and slugging percentage (.629), while enjoying 19 multi-hit games and nine multi-RBI contests. At one point during the year, Morrison posted a team-high tying 11-game hitting streak, along with hitting his lone grand slam in a 14-4, eight-inning win over Alabama. The Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist opened his Golden Eagle career with a double off All-American Jackson Flora of UCSB and holds the team lead with seven game-tying RBI.
Gillespie started in all 54 games in left field, finishing the regular season with a team-best .324 batting average with 12 doubles, a triple, 12 home runs and 43 RBI. He also tied for team lead with 20 multi-hit games and 11 multi-RBI contests. In league games, he batted a team-best .353 with nine homers and 32 RBI. For the year, Gillespie posted 49 runs overall and recorded a team-high 33 walks. He blasted a go-ahead homer versus Oregon State in Round Rock Classic, earning all-tournament honors in the process. He has not made an error in the field and has 13 go-ahead RBI and 12, 2-out RBI for the year.
Converted from a starter to the bullpen, Allen ended the regular season with a 5-1 record, a 2.48 ERA and two saves. He appeared in 21 games, including five starts, and fanned 77 and walked 17 in 61 2/3 innings. Allen currently ranks No. 6 on the school career chart in appearances with 89, No. 5 in saves with 21 and tied for No. 7 in victories with 22. He collected five outings in relief of 3.0 innings or more and posted five or more strikeouts in eight outings. After losing in the opening game, Allen posted five wins and two saves the rest of the way. He did not allow a run in his final 9 2/3 innings and at one point during the middle of the season at 10 1/3 frames. Allen was named to the National Pitcher of the Year preseason list.
As for Ostrander, he becomes the first Southern Miss skipper to earn the Ron Maestri Sun Belt Coach of the Year honor as it was the sixth time a Golden Eagle coach was honored since the 1996 season. He led Southern Miss to its first regular season conference crown in three seasons at the helm of the Golden Eagle program and the school's first regular season title since 2022.
Southern Miss finished the regular season with 40 wins for the second-straight year as the program also captured at least 20 wins in league play for the 10th consecutive season. Southern Miss secured non-conference victories over Oregon State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Alabama, Louisiana Tech, Purdue and Baylor during the campaign. The program started the season with a 15-3 mark and in May won their last nine games of the regular season to extend their winning streak to 20 games for regular season contests in May. He also reached 100 career wins earlier this season, becoming the quickest Southern Miss baseball coach to reach that plateau, doing it in 136 games.
2026 Sun Belt Baseball All-Conference
Player of the Year
Jimmy Janicki, Troy (So., C – Downers Grove, Ill.)
Pitcher of the Year
Grayden Harris, Southern Miss (So., LHP – Central, La.)
Newcomer of the Year
Gage Peterson, App State (Jr., RHP – Jonesborough, Tenn.)
Freshman of the Year
Brady Christman, Georgia Southern (Fr., C/OF – Forsyth, Ga.)
Tony Robichaux Leadership Award
Bryce Blevins, Marshall (Sr., LHP – Louisa, Ky.)
Ron Maestri Coach of the Year
Christian Ostrander, Southern Miss
All-Sun Belt First Team
P Gage Peterson, App State (Jr., RHP – Jonesborough, Tenn.)
P Camden Clark, Southern Miss (So., RHP – Laurel, Miss.)
P Grayden Harris, Southern Miss (So., LHP – Central, La.)
RP Darin Horn, Coastal Carolina (RS Sr., RHP – Bluffton, S.C.)
C Jimmy Janicki, Troy (So., C – Downers Grove, Ill.)
1B Matthew Russo, Southern Miss (Sr., 1B – Madisonville, La.)
2B Kyle Morrison, Southern Miss (Sr., 2B – Wetumpka, Ala.)
SS Steven Smith, App State (Gr., SS – Salisbury, N.C.)
3B Wills Maginnis, Georgia State (So., 3B – Newnan, Ga.)
OF Evan Bottone, Marshall (Jr., OF – Bay Village, Ohio)
OF Davis Gillespie, Southern Miss (RS Jr., OF – Birmingham, Ala.)
OF Aaron Piasecki, Troy (Sr., OF – Muskegon, Mich.)
DH Brady Christman, Georgia Southern (Fr., DH – Forsyth, Ga.)
UT Drew Nelson, Troy (Sr., UT – Troy, Ala.)
All-Sun Belt Second Team
P Cody Brasch, Louisiana (Jr., RHP – Haslet, Texas)
P Andrew Herrmann, Louisiana (Gr., LHP – Kennesaw, Ga.)
P Bryce Blevins, Marshall (Sr., LHP – Louisa, Ky.)
RP Colby Allen, Southern Miss (Sr., RHP – Louisville, Miss.)
C Colt Brown, Louisiana (Fr., C – Seguin, Texas)
1B Derek Martinez, Arkansas State (Fr., 1B – Clermont, Fla.)
2B Brennon Wright, South Alabama (Jr., 2B – Starkville, Miss.)
SS Will Johnson, Old Dominion (Jr., SS – Allen, Texas)
3B Stewart Puckett, South Alabama (RS Jr., 3B – DeLeon Springs, Fla.)
OF Charlie Evans, App State (Sr., OF – Levittown, Pa.)
OF Rex Watson, Coastal Carolina (So., OF – Manteca, Calif.)
OF Rashawn Galloway, Texas State (Sr., OF – Boerne, Texas)
DH Manny Salas, Texas State (Jr., DH – North Richland Hills, Texas)
UT Jaquae Stewart, Texas State (Jr., UT – Sinton, Texas)
All-Sun Belt Freshman Team
Colton Denton, App State (Fr., C – Knoxville, Tenn.)
Derek Martinez, Arkansas State (Fr., 1B – Clermont, Fla.)
Case Bosch, Coastal Carolina (Fr., LHP – Jenison, Mich.)
Jackson Smallets, Coastal Carolina (Fr., RHP – Sicklerville, N.J.)
Brady Christman, Georgia Southern (Fr., C/OF – Forsyth, Ga.)
Bennett Edwards, Georgia Southern (Fr., C/OF – Laurens, S.C.)
Colt Brown, Louisiana (Fr., C – Seguin, Texas)
Noah Lewis, Louisiana (Fr., OF – Baton Rouge, La.)
Sawyer Pruitt, Louisiana (Fr., RHP – Watson, La.)
Blaze Rodriguez, Louisiana (Fr., SS – Slidell, La.)
Garett Wiethorn, ULM (Fr., OF – McGregor, Texas)
Ben Tanton, Old Dominion (Fr., RHP – Vestal, N.Y.)
Jackson Cotton, Texas State (Fr., OF – Missouri City, Texas)
Clayton Namken, Texas State (Fr., C – New Braunfels, Texas)
Joining Harris on the first team were starting pitcher Camden Clark (Laurel, Miss.), first baseman Matthew Russo (Madisonville, La.), second baseman Kyle Morrison (Wetumpka, Ala.) and outfielder Davis Gillespie (Birmingham, Ala.). Relief pitcher Colby Allen (Louisville, Miss.) was named to the second team.
In 14 starts this season, Harris posted an 8-1 record with a 3.10 ERA that included wins over Oregon State, Louisiana Tech, Arkansas State, Louisiana and Texas State. He leads the team with 93 strikeouts, including a season-high 13 against North Alabama (3/7), as well as in innings at 78 1/3. He threw at least five innings in 12 starts and at least six innings seven times. He was named Sun Belt, NCBWA and to the Baseball America Team of the Week once during the year.
He is the second Golden Eagle to win Pitcher of the Year in the school's four-year Sun Belt history – Tanner Hall won it in 2023 – and the eighth Southern Miss recipient to win a league top pitcher award since 2010.
As for Clark, he started the season as the Southern Miss closer and made the switch to the rotation over the final half of the year. He has tallied an 8-0 record with five saves in 21 appearances, which also includes five starts. His pitcher numbers entailed 73 strikeouts and just seven walks in 46 innings of work and opponents are hitting just .199, while his WHIP being at 0.89. Clark was also named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year midseason watch list. He posted a season-high 15 strikeouts versus ULM (5/2), which was the most strikeouts by a Golden Eagle pitcher since Hall posted that many against Arkansas State on April 30, 2023.
One of four Golden Eagles to start in all 54 games, Russo finished the regular season at a .313 batting average with 12 doubles, 10 home runs and a team-best 50 RBI. The first baseman has been hit by a pitch 20 times in 2026 and is second on the school's career chart with 60. He also is tied for the team lead in both multiple-hit and multiple-RBI games. He enjoyed a team-best 29-game, reached base streak at one point and has hit .436 (17x39) over the last 10 games with six doubles, two home runs and 14 RBI. He is also responsible for three of the Golden Eagles seven game-winning RBI this season and has six for his career. In addition, he is a member of the Lou Gehrig Community Impact Team.
In his only season with the Golden Eagles, Morrison has posted a .322 average with a team-best 15 home runs and 45 RBI as he started in all 54 games. He leads the team in both on-base percentage (.427) and slugging percentage (.629), while enjoying 19 multi-hit games and nine multi-RBI contests. At one point during the year, Morrison posted a team-high tying 11-game hitting streak, along with hitting his lone grand slam in a 14-4, eight-inning win over Alabama. The Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist opened his Golden Eagle career with a double off All-American Jackson Flora of UCSB and holds the team lead with seven game-tying RBI.
Gillespie started in all 54 games in left field, finishing the regular season with a team-best .324 batting average with 12 doubles, a triple, 12 home runs and 43 RBI. He also tied for team lead with 20 multi-hit games and 11 multi-RBI contests. In league games, he batted a team-best .353 with nine homers and 32 RBI. For the year, Gillespie posted 49 runs overall and recorded a team-high 33 walks. He blasted a go-ahead homer versus Oregon State in Round Rock Classic, earning all-tournament honors in the process. He has not made an error in the field and has 13 go-ahead RBI and 12, 2-out RBI for the year.
Converted from a starter to the bullpen, Allen ended the regular season with a 5-1 record, a 2.48 ERA and two saves. He appeared in 21 games, including five starts, and fanned 77 and walked 17 in 61 2/3 innings. Allen currently ranks No. 6 on the school career chart in appearances with 89, No. 5 in saves with 21 and tied for No. 7 in victories with 22. He collected five outings in relief of 3.0 innings or more and posted five or more strikeouts in eight outings. After losing in the opening game, Allen posted five wins and two saves the rest of the way. He did not allow a run in his final 9 2/3 innings and at one point during the middle of the season at 10 1/3 frames. Allen was named to the National Pitcher of the Year preseason list.
As for Ostrander, he becomes the first Southern Miss skipper to earn the Ron Maestri Sun Belt Coach of the Year honor as it was the sixth time a Golden Eagle coach was honored since the 1996 season. He led Southern Miss to its first regular season conference crown in three seasons at the helm of the Golden Eagle program and the school's first regular season title since 2022.
Southern Miss finished the regular season with 40 wins for the second-straight year as the program also captured at least 20 wins in league play for the 10th consecutive season. Southern Miss secured non-conference victories over Oregon State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Alabama, Louisiana Tech, Purdue and Baylor during the campaign. The program started the season with a 15-3 mark and in May won their last nine games of the regular season to extend their winning streak to 20 games for regular season contests in May. He also reached 100 career wins earlier this season, becoming the quickest Southern Miss baseball coach to reach that plateau, doing it in 136 games.
2026 Sun Belt Baseball All-Conference
Player of the Year
Jimmy Janicki, Troy (So., C – Downers Grove, Ill.)
Pitcher of the Year
Grayden Harris, Southern Miss (So., LHP – Central, La.)
Newcomer of the Year
Gage Peterson, App State (Jr., RHP – Jonesborough, Tenn.)
Freshman of the Year
Brady Christman, Georgia Southern (Fr., C/OF – Forsyth, Ga.)
Tony Robichaux Leadership Award
Bryce Blevins, Marshall (Sr., LHP – Louisa, Ky.)
Ron Maestri Coach of the Year
Christian Ostrander, Southern Miss
All-Sun Belt First Team
P Gage Peterson, App State (Jr., RHP – Jonesborough, Tenn.)
P Camden Clark, Southern Miss (So., RHP – Laurel, Miss.)
P Grayden Harris, Southern Miss (So., LHP – Central, La.)
RP Darin Horn, Coastal Carolina (RS Sr., RHP – Bluffton, S.C.)
C Jimmy Janicki, Troy (So., C – Downers Grove, Ill.)
1B Matthew Russo, Southern Miss (Sr., 1B – Madisonville, La.)
2B Kyle Morrison, Southern Miss (Sr., 2B – Wetumpka, Ala.)
SS Steven Smith, App State (Gr., SS – Salisbury, N.C.)
3B Wills Maginnis, Georgia State (So., 3B – Newnan, Ga.)
OF Evan Bottone, Marshall (Jr., OF – Bay Village, Ohio)
OF Davis Gillespie, Southern Miss (RS Jr., OF – Birmingham, Ala.)
OF Aaron Piasecki, Troy (Sr., OF – Muskegon, Mich.)
DH Brady Christman, Georgia Southern (Fr., DH – Forsyth, Ga.)
UT Drew Nelson, Troy (Sr., UT – Troy, Ala.)
All-Sun Belt Second Team
P Cody Brasch, Louisiana (Jr., RHP – Haslet, Texas)
P Andrew Herrmann, Louisiana (Gr., LHP – Kennesaw, Ga.)
P Bryce Blevins, Marshall (Sr., LHP – Louisa, Ky.)
RP Colby Allen, Southern Miss (Sr., RHP – Louisville, Miss.)
C Colt Brown, Louisiana (Fr., C – Seguin, Texas)
1B Derek Martinez, Arkansas State (Fr., 1B – Clermont, Fla.)
2B Brennon Wright, South Alabama (Jr., 2B – Starkville, Miss.)
SS Will Johnson, Old Dominion (Jr., SS – Allen, Texas)
3B Stewart Puckett, South Alabama (RS Jr., 3B – DeLeon Springs, Fla.)
OF Charlie Evans, App State (Sr., OF – Levittown, Pa.)
OF Rex Watson, Coastal Carolina (So., OF – Manteca, Calif.)
OF Rashawn Galloway, Texas State (Sr., OF – Boerne, Texas)
DH Manny Salas, Texas State (Jr., DH – North Richland Hills, Texas)
UT Jaquae Stewart, Texas State (Jr., UT – Sinton, Texas)
All-Sun Belt Freshman Team
Colton Denton, App State (Fr., C – Knoxville, Tenn.)
Derek Martinez, Arkansas State (Fr., 1B – Clermont, Fla.)
Case Bosch, Coastal Carolina (Fr., LHP – Jenison, Mich.)
Jackson Smallets, Coastal Carolina (Fr., RHP – Sicklerville, N.J.)
Brady Christman, Georgia Southern (Fr., C/OF – Forsyth, Ga.)
Bennett Edwards, Georgia Southern (Fr., C/OF – Laurens, S.C.)
Colt Brown, Louisiana (Fr., C – Seguin, Texas)
Noah Lewis, Louisiana (Fr., OF – Baton Rouge, La.)
Sawyer Pruitt, Louisiana (Fr., RHP – Watson, La.)
Blaze Rodriguez, Louisiana (Fr., SS – Slidell, La.)
Garett Wiethorn, ULM (Fr., OF – McGregor, Texas)
Ben Tanton, Old Dominion (Fr., RHP – Vestal, N.Y.)
Jackson Cotton, Texas State (Fr., OF – Missouri City, Texas)
Clayton Namken, Texas State (Fr., C – New Braunfels, Texas)
Players Mentioned
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OF
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LHP
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INF
/ BaseballTrue Grit: Final Episode
Friday, October 20
Episode 1: War Damn Golden Eagle
Tuesday, August 22
Episode 5: Battle for the Belt
Thursday, August 17
Episode 4: Battle for the Belt
Saturday, August 12