ATLANTA, Ga. (May 8, 2023) – Southern Athletic Association champion Birmingham-Southern picked up two major awards to headline the 2023 All-SAA baseball teams.
 
Rhodes outfielder Dante Messina was voted the SAA Player of the Year while Centre’s Ben Prather earned Newcomer of the Year honors. Birmingham-Southern reliver Hansen McCown picked up the SAA Pitcher of the Year award and Panthers skipper Jan Weisberg was voted Coach of the Year.
 
Messina was a second team All-SAA member a year ago and came back with a breakout junior campaign. He hit .388 in league play, the eighth-best average in the conference, while leading the SAA with 24 runs scored and 25 RBI. Messina’s 33 hits, including two triples, are both the second-best marks in the conference. He had a hit in all but two conference games, including four SAA outings with three hits.
 
McCown led all pitchers with a 0.36 ERA in SAA action, allowing just one earned run and four total in 24.2 innings. Opponents hit just .128 against McCown, getting only 11 hits. He rolled up a conference fourth-best 35 strikeouts to three walks and earned three saves on the season. McCown was strong down the stretch, fanning eight and allowing one run in six innings against Hendrix and then lifting BSC to the SAA title with five strikeouts in three hitless innings against Oglethorpe the following week.
 
Prather emerged as one of the top hitters and pitchers in the SAA during his first season. At the plate, he was fifth in conference with 28 hits and ninth with 17 RBI, hitting .391 against the SAA. The freshman tossed 38.1 innings in conference, the fifth-most, and earned a second-best four SAA victories. He fanned 23 on the year and threw three complete games, including a shutout of Sewanee.
 
Weisberg, in his 16^th season on the Hilltop, guided BSC to its sixth SAA tournament championship and seventh regular season crown. The Panthers were ranked No. 2 in the D3baseball.com preseason poll and spent six weeks as the top-ranked team in Division III. Weisberg will take BSC into the NCAA postseason as the ninth-ranked team in the nation.
 
2023 Baseball All-Southern Athletic Association
Player of the Year – Dante Messina (Rhodes)
Pitcher of the Year – Hansen McCown (Birmingham-Southern)
Newcomer of the Year – Ben Prather (Centre)
Coach of the Year – Jan Weisberg (Birmingham-Southern)
 
First Team All-SAA
Pitcher – Josh Leerssen (Birmingham-Southern)
Pitcher – Zach Sohosky (Rhodes)
Pitcher – Joey White (Birmingham-Southern)
Relief Pitcher – Hansen McCown (Birmingham-Southern)
Catcher – Austin Arceneaux (Millsaps)
First Base – Hunter Herndon (Sewanee)
Second Base – Joey Garcia (Berry)
Short Stop – Gunnar Vachris (Rhodes)
Third Base – Ben Burkhart (Rhodes)
Outfield – Nick Brunswick (Berry)
Outfield – Josh Cunningham (Centre)
Outfield – Dante Messina (Rhodes)
Designated Hitter – Ian Hancock (Birmingham-Southern)
Utility – Ben Prather (Centre)
 
Second Team All-SAA
Pitcher – David Blackburn (Hendrix)
Pitcher – Stewart Bonnecaze (Millsaps)
Pitcher – Andrei Stoyanow (Hendrix)
Pitcher - Jackson Halla (Berry)
Relief Pitcher – Tyler Cassidy (Berry)
Catcher – Jack Fleming (Birmingham-Southern)
First Base – Wesley Maxey (Berry)
Second Base – Peter York (Rhodes)
Second Base - Wesley Diamantis (Birmingham-Southern)
Short Stop – Noah Best (Birmingham-Southern)
Third Base – Chris Hart (Millsaps)
Outfield – Adam Bland (Hendrix)
Outfield – Cam McNearney (Birmingham-Southern)
Outfield – Sam Pitre (Millsaps)
Designated Hitter – John McNair (Rhodes)
Utility – Jackson Webster (Birmingham-Southern)
 
Honorable Mention
Connor Adams (Birmingham-Southern)
Chase Austin (Centre)
Quinn Blackman (Rhodes)
Levi Cloud (Berry)
Jonathan Cruz (Oglethorpe)
John D’Amelio (Berry)
John Henry Fowler (Hendrix)
Zach Heavern (Centre)
Dillon Di Iorio (Centre)
Colby James (Oglethorpe)
Greg Johnson (Oglethorpe)
Corbin Kinder (Rhodes)
David Kinsbrunner (Centre)
Garrett Lang (Berry)
Zach Marriott (Hendrix)
Matt Munn (Sewanee)
Patrick O’Rourke (Berry)
Case Page (Millsaps)
Andrew Pendleton (Berry)
Blake Pou (Sewanee)
David Ripple (Hendrix)
Malcolm Rohlfing (Rhodes)
Owen Shaw (Hendrix)
Nick Tarantino (Millsaps)
Charlie Teel (Sewanee)
Carson Weir (Oglethorpe)
Ben Wilson (Rhodes)
Wil Wood (Millsaps)
Will Yarbro (Sewanee)