HAMMOND, La. – Four Southeastern Louisiana University baseball student-athletes represented the Lions on the 2024 Southland Conference Baseball Teams, which were announced by the league office Tuesday.
Southeastern placed a trio of veterans on the All-SLC first team, as third baseman Shea Thomas, shortstop TJ Salvaggio and pitcher Brennan Stuprich were all named the league's best at their respective positions. In addition, pitcher Larson Fabre was named the Southland Freshman of the Year.
Thomas earned his first All-Southland Conference selection after finishing the regular season atop the team with a .317 batting average, 65 hits and 15 doubles to go with 10 home runs and 40 RBI. The Olympia, Washington native ranks in the top 10 in the SLC in home runs (8th), doubles (8th) and sacrifice flies (5, 6th).
Thomas' partner on the left side of the infield, Salvaggio, also earned his first All-SLC honor of his Lion career. Salvaggio is hitting .314 and leads the Lions with 13 home runs, 50 runs scored and 41 RBI. The Slidell, Louisiana native is fourth in the SLC in home runs, while also listed among the league leaders in slugging percentage (.581, 5th), OPS (1.004, 7th), runs (7th) and hit by pitch (10, 7th) heading into the postseason.
Stuprich was named first team All-Southland for the second time in his career, as he previously received the honor as a freshman in 2021. The Kenner, Louisiana native is 5-3 with a 3.13 earned run average this spring, holding opponents to a .238 batting average and striking out 43 in 77.2 innings pitched. Stuprich is among the league leaders in ERA (2nd), opposing batting average (6th), innings pitched (4th) and wins (8th).
Fabre is the fourth Lion to be named SLC Freshman of the Year, joining Stuprich (2021), Brennan Breaud (2016) and Andro Cutura (2012). The redshirt freshman from Denham Springs, Louisiana has a 3-1 record with a 3.86 ERA in 15 appearances out of the bullpen, holding opponents to a .206 batting average in 25.2 innings pitched.
Fabre was one of seven individual superlative award recipients, along with Nicholls' Edgar Alvarez (Player of the Year), Mitchell Sanford of New Orleans (Hitter of the Year), Lamar's Brooks Caple (Pitcher of the Year), Nico Saltaformaggio of Nicholls (Relief Pitcher of the Year), UIW's Dalton Beck (Newcomer of the Year) and Will Davis of Lamar (Coach of the Year). SLU was one of three teams with multiple first-team All-SLC selections, along with New Orleans (four) and Nicholls (two).
Southeastern (28-26) will be the No. 6 seed in and host of the 2024 North Oaks Health System Southland Conference Championship, scheduled for Wednesday through Saturday at Pat Kenelly Diamond at Alumni Field. The Lions will open the double-elimination tournament with a 7 p.m. contest versus UNO Wednesday. All of SLU's tournament contests will be televised on ESPN+ and can be heard in the Hammond area on 90.9 The Lion.
Streaming audio of 90.9 The Lion broadcasts is available online, at www.LionSports.net/ListenLive or www.LionUpRadio.org, or through the following apps - Lions' Gameday, TuneIn and MyTuner Radio.
DIAMOND CLUB / S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the baseball program are encouraged to join the Diamond Club. Lion baseball alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
All membership fees and donations to both the Diamond Club and S Club (baseball) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern baseball program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or by visiting www.LionUp.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow the Southeastern Baseball social media accounts (@LionUpBaseball) on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to stay engaged with the program.
The latest updates are also available at www.LionSports.net and the Lions Gameday Experience app. Available for both Android and iOS devices, the Gameday app can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play.
2024 All-Southland Conference Baseball Teams and Individual Superlative Winners
Player of the Year: Edgar Alvarez, Nicholls
Hitter of the Year: Mitchell Sanford, New Orleans
Pitcher of the Year: Brooks Caple, Lamar
Relief Pitcher of the Year: Nico Saltaformaggio, Nicholls
Freshman of the Year: Larson Fabre, Southeastern
Newcomer of the Year: Dalton Beck, UIW
Coach of the Year: Will Davis, Lamar
First Team
C – Miguel Useche, New Orleans
1B – Edgar Alvarez, Nicholls
2B – Isaac Webb, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
SS – TJ Salvaggio, Southeastern
3B – Shea Thomas, Southeastern
OF – Mitchell Sanford, New Orleans
OF – Samuel Benjamin, HCU
OF – Cooper Hext, McNeese
DH – Dalton Beck, UIW
UT – Bryce Calloway, New Orleans
SP – Brennan Stuprich, Southeastern
SP – Brooks Caple, Lamar
SP – Colton Mercer, New Orleans
RP – Nico Saltaformaggio, Nicholls
Second Team
C – Zak Skinner, Lamar
1B – Brayden Evans, Lamar
2B – Diego Villescas, New Orleans
SS – Parker Coddou, Nicholls
3B – Sebastian Trinidad, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
OF – Reese Lipoma, Northwestern State
OF – Basiel Williams, Nicholls
OF – Cameron Caley, UIW
DH – River Orsak, Lamar
UT – Drake Anderson, Nicholls
SP – Matthew Watson, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
SP – Jacob Ellis, Lamar
SP – Hunter Hesseltine, Lamar
RP – Caleb Bunch, Northwestern State
All-Defensive Team
C – Miguel Useche, New Orleans
1B – Edgar Alvarez, Nicholls
2B – Dalton Hurst, New Orleans
SS – Kanin Dodge, Lamar
3B – Rocco Gump, Northwestern State
CF – Connor Westenburg, McNeese
LF – Cooper Hext, McNeese
RF – Mitchell Sanford, New Orleans
P – Cameron LeJeune, McNeese
