Tanner and Sandoval added to their GAC superlative awards haul as they won the 2024 and 2025 Freshman of the Year awards, respectively. Tanner, UAM’s second-ever Player of the Year, finished the regular season as the GAC leader in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. His .451 average ranks fourth in Division II. Sandoval, the Rangers’ first GAC Pitcher of the Year, compiled a 8-5 record with a 3.21 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. His five complete games lead the GAC and rank fifth nationally.
Bush, the first Newcomer of the Year in school history, closed the regular season tied for the league lead with 19 home runs. His .780 slugging percentage ranked second to Tanner. Ross hit 15 home runs and drove in 46 runs to become the first Reddie named Freshman of the Year.
The league awarded its Elite Scholar Athlete Award – Presented By Conway Regional Health System to 16 student-athletes in Henderson State’s, Adam Garcia, Ethan Roark and Hunter Rook; Southern Arkansas’ Jackson Downing, Grey Fisher and Luke Noack; Southwestern Oklahoma State’s Garret Coiner, Elijah Long and Zach Makarewich; Harding’s Ricky Howell and Merritt Jay, Northwestern Oklahoma State’s Alexander Dabrowski and Jason McCarty, Arkansas Tech’s John Witt, UAM’s Jackson Riedling and Oklahoma Baptist’s Kody Bialas. All 16 own a perfect 4.00 grade-point average.
Led by Tanner, the regular-season champion Boll Weevils paced the GAC with four First-Team members. Catcher Eli Marvin hit 12 home runs. His 57 RBI rank in a tie for third. John White went 7-1 with a 1.64 ERA out of the UAM bullpen and Darcy Barry hit 12 home runs and stole 21 bases.
Bush, second baseman Ryan Kirk and first baseman Carter Olson gave the Savage Storm three First-Team selections. Kirk hit 15 home runs and drove in 52. Olson matched Bush as the GAC’s top home-run hitter with 19. His 64 RBI finished one off the league lead.
Two Arkansas Tech pitchers – starter Creighton Jacobitz and reliever Eric Woodley – claimed spots on the First Team, as did Wonder Boy outfielder Kirby Jenkins. Jacobitz went 7-4 with a 3.46 ERA – a mark that ranks fourth in the conference. His 64 strikeouts tied for second. Woodley collected a GAC-leading nine saves in 15 appearances. He sported a 1.29 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP and held batters to a .190 average. Jenkins hit a team-best .357 average with a .484 on-base percentage. He totaled 15 doubles, nine home runs, three triples and 15 stolen bases.
Pitcher Kyle Lane and shortstop Cooper Newsom represented Harding on the First Team. Lane went 8-0 with 60 strikeouts. Newsom, who along with Tanner, represented the lone unanimous selections, enters the GAC Championships with 65 RBI, topping the GAC. He added 17 doubles and nine home runs.
Henderson State starter Ethan Roark, Oklahoma Baptist outfielder Tui Amosa, Southern Nazarene designated hitter Josh Bay and Southwestern Oklahoma State third baseman Landon Meyer rounded out the First Team. Roark’s 88 strikeouts lead the league and rank fifth in Division II. He also leads in strikeouts per nine innings and strikeout-to-walk ratio. His 1.14 WHIP ranks second. Amosa posted the second-best batting average, .407, and his 20 doubles also ranked second. Bay joined Bush and Olson atop the GAC home run leaderboard with 19. His 143 total bases also lead the conference.
Ross headlined the All-GAC Second Team. The Second Team consisted of Harding’s Josiah Binford, Collin Helms and Merritt Jay; UAM’s Danny Lizarraga and Jackson Riedling, Arkansas Tech’s Cole Dawson and Daniel Hutchison, Ouachita Baptist’s Jaren Ceasar and Chase Oberle, SAU’s Wyatt Fielding and Caleb Sollars, East Central’s Tyler Akers, the Reddies’ Rhett Richardson, Oklahoma Baptist’s Keenan Morris, Southeastern’s Isaac Villa and SWOSU’s Kotaro Wakui.
The Honorable Mention All-GAC team featured Arkansas Tech’s Ashton Greenlee, Derek Rockett and Tyler Sardelli; Northwestern Oklahoma State’s Alex Dabrowski, Will Kates and Ryan McClaskey; Harding’s Easton Jones and Logan Lacey, Oklahoma Baptist’s Kody Bialas and Quinn Johnson, Ouachita Baptist’s Joseph Bolin and Reece McWilliams, Southeastern Oklahoma State’s Dylan Hill and Cody Pfeffer, SAU’s Eli Hutcherson and Preston Smith, SWOSU’s Keaton Fisher and Garrett Folmar, ECU’s Joey Allen and UAM’s Elijah Olaybal.
Lane, Dawson, Akers and Dabrowski added All-Defensive Teams honors to their postseason accolades. Two from Arkansas Tech – second baseman Drew Vega and third baseman Brendyn Bard – made the team in addition to SAU catcher Jacob Lang, SWOSU first baseman Nolan McCrossin and Henderson State outfielder Nate Moore.
A total of 180 standouts placed on the GAC Academic Honor Roll Team.
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