CANTON, Ga. (May 7, 2025) – The Southern Athletic Association has recognized 52 standout student-athletes on its 2025 Baseball All-Conference teams.
Millsaps, coming off a regular season conference championship, led the way in major awards. Bradley Pelle was voted the Athlete of the Year while Nick Tarantino was named the Pitcher of the Year. Millsaps veteran Jim Page is the leader of the SAA’s Coaching Staff of the Year. Sewanee outfielder Will Jennewein was selected as Rookie of the Year.
Voting was conducted among the conference’s seven head coaches.
Pelle (Senior/Kenner, La.) ranked in the top-three in seven SAA offensive categories, leading the Majors to the outright SAA regular season title. The senior batted .430 in conference play while topping the league in slugging percentage (.835) and tying for the most home runs (7). Pelle’s 28 RBIs was second in the conference while his 21 runs scored was the third best mark. He had 10 multi-hit games, including a 4-for-6 performance at Rhodes and a 3-for-5, six RBI day at Berry. Pelle heads into the postseason on a 15-game hitting streak. He is the second Major to win Athlete of the Year honors, joining Keith Shumaker who won in 2013 and 2015.
Tarantino (Senior/Covington, La.) led the league with a 5-1 mark on the hill, throwing a conference-best 45.2 innings. He ranked second in the SAA with 37 strikeouts while posting a 2.96 ERA in the league. The senior had a big game in the SAA opener against Centre with 14 strikeouts and two earned runs over 8.2 innings pitched. Overall, Tarantino rolled up 79 strikeouts in 74.1 innings while posting a 3.03 ERA and earning a conference best nine wins. He is Millsaps’ first SAA Pitcher of the Year.
Jennewein (First Year/Tampa, Fla.) was third in the conference with four homers in SAA play to highlight his first collegiate season. He hit .339 in league play with 16 RBIs while scoring 13 runs. Jennewein had a big series against Rhodes, going 5-of-10 with four RBIs on two doubles and a homer in three games. He then went 5-for-9 with four RBIs the following weekend against Millsaps. Jennewin is the first Tiger to win Rookie of the Year honors.
Led by Jim Page, the Millsaps coaching staff guided the Majors from finishing sixth in the conference preseason poll to the outright conference title and No. 1 seed in the SAA Tournament. Page has been at the helm of the Millsaps program since 1989 and is one of the winningest coaches in NCAA Division III history with nearly 900 wins. This year he mentored nine All-Conference honorees, including the Athlete of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, and four on the First Team. The SAA Coaching Staff of the Year award is a third for the Majors.
Athlete of the Year: Bradley Pelle, Millsaps
Pitcher of the Year: Nick Tarantino, Millsaps
Rookie of the Year: Will Jennewein, Sewanee
Coaching Staff of the Year: Millsaps, HC Jim Page
FIRST TEAM
SP – Matt Munn, Sewanee
SP – Zac Sohosky, Rhodes
SP – Nick Tarantino, Millsaps
RP – Mick Arney, Rhodes
C – Andrew Pendleton, Berry
1B – Riley Uhls, Berry
2B – Joey Garcia, Berry
SS – Jonathan Cruz, Oglethorpe
3B – Gray Berry, Millsaps
OF – Nick Brunswick, Berry
OF – Ayden Lohr, Centre
OF – Bradley Pelle, Millsaps
DH – Evan Scott, Millsaps
UTL – Ben Prather, Centre
SECOND TEAM:
SP – Harrison Cowdrey, Centre
SP – Dylan Kalmus, Hendrix
SP – Aiden Leggett, Hendrix
RP – Zach Heavern, Centre
RP – Cole Porter, Berry
C – Evan Weyler, Centre
1B – Case Page, Millsaps
1B – Charlie Teel, Sewanee
2B – Aaron Lopez, Centre
SS – Zach Fortman, Sewanee
3B – Jaxson Corr, Oglethorpe
3B – Austin Rabago, Hendrix
OF – Will Jennewein, Sewanee
OF – Trey Kinnan, Oglethorpe
OF – Alex Knapp, Berry
OF – Isaiah Pou, Oglethorpe
DH – Ben Burkhart, Rhodes
UTL – Ben Daniel, Rhodes
Honorable Mention:
Quinn Blackman, Rhodes
Branyan Bounds, Millsaps
Fred Fields, Millsaps
Rowan Glover, Hendrix
Ian Guthrie, Hendrix
Drake Job, Hendrix
Tate Henderson, Oglethorpe
Cooper Krause, Oglethorpe
Cooper Kuriger, Rhodes
EJ Ousley, Millsaps
Aidan Petrocco, Sewanee
Blake Pou, Sewanee
Nick Tarantino, Oglethorpe
Brandon Trichell, Rhodes
Owen Shaw, Hendrix
Caleb Spikes, Berry
Braxton Waller, Hendrix
Jackson Ware, Millsaps
Joseph Watts, Hendrix
Baylor Woodall, Centre
All-Sportsmanship Team:
Caleb Spikes, Berry
Ethan McGriff, Centre
Ian Guthrie, Hendrix
Zac Farris, Millsaps
Alex Steckler, Oglethorpe
Malcolm Rohfling, Rhodes
Alden Wright, Sewanee