Big South Announces 2019 Baseball Annual Award Winners
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Gardner-Webb senior infielder Chandler Redmond (Middletown, Md.) and Campbell senior hurler Michael Horrell (Winston-Salem, N.C.) have been voted the 2019 Big South Baseball Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, by the league’s head coaches, it was announced this afternoon. In addition, Gardner-Webb head coach Rusty Stroupe was voted Coach of the Year, while Camels’ pitcher Ryan Chasse (Apex, N.C.) was selected Big South Freshman of the Year. Presbyterian College senior outfielder Nick Guimbarda (Suwanee, Ga.) was voted Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the Big South’s sports information directors.
Redmond is the first Runnin’ Bulldog to be voted Player of the Year since Gardner-Webb joined the Big South in 2008-09. He concluded the regular-season with a .306 batting average as well as league-highs of 18 home runs, 58 RBI, 123 total bases and a .672 slugging percentage. Redmond batted .333 in 26 conference games, slugged a league-best .708, and tied for the top spot with 10 homers while ranking second with 31 RBI. His 18 home runs are a Gardner-Webb single-season record, and he also ranked among the conference leaders with 33 walks. In Big South action, Redmond was walked a league-high 24 times, recorded 68 total bases (2nd) and was fourth with a .467 on-base percentage. He posted three multi-homer games and 16 multi-RBI efforts -- including seven driven in against USC Upstate on March 29, and concluded the regular-season with a 10-game hitting streak. Redmond received six first-place votes and 22 points in the voting, ahead of Campbell’s Matthew Barefoot (one first-place vote and nine points).
Horrell becomes the second consecutive Camel to win Big South Pitcher of the Year honors after he tied for the Big South lead with eight wins and finished second with a .271 earned run average, while ranking fourth with a .232 opponents’ batting average allowed. In 76.1 innings pitched, he struck out 68 batters and issued just 12 walks for a 5.67 strikeout-to-walk ratio that placed him among the Top 30 in the nation. Horrell led the Big South with a 1.03 WHIP and went 6-0 at home with a 0.83 ERA. In Big South contests, Horrell was 6-2 with a 2.36 earned run average with 50 strikeouts against just nine walks. He fanned 10 Gardner-Webb hitters in seven innings on April 6, was a two-time Big South Pitcher of the Week selection, and tied for the top spot for most conference victories. Horrell received seven first-place votes and 26 points, ahead of Winthrop starter Nate Pawelczyk (one first-place vote and 10 points).
Stroupe earns his first Big South Coach of the Year honor after leading the Runnin’ Bulldogs to an opening-round bye in the Big South Baseball Championship with a 14-13 conference record. He directed his squad to two wins over Power 5 programs in 2019 -- 10-2 at then-No. 24 South Carolina on March 6, and 9-7 at home vs. Clemson on May 5. The Runnin’ Bulldogs swept two Big South series this season, ranked third in the conference in hitting (.272), second in slugging percentage (.419), second in home runs (51) and led all members with 91 stolen bases. Stroupe’s pitching corps also tied for the league-lead with 12 saves. In Big South contests, the Runnin’ Bulldogs were tops with 33 home runs and seven saves, while ranking second in walks (111) and slugging (.432), and third with 185 runs scored. Stroupe collected nine first-place votes and 27 points, ahead of Campbell’s Justin Haire (15 points).
Chasse becomes Campbell’s second consecutive Big South Freshman of the Year honoree and third overall. He finished the regular-season as the league leader with a 2.60 earned run average as he went 7-2 on the mound with a .215 opponents’ batting average allowed and 55 strikeouts in 69.1 innings. Chasse ranked second among the Big South leaders in wins, runs allowed (26) and earned runs allowed (20). A two-time Big South Freshman of the Week as well as a Starting Pitcher of the Week honoree, Chasse posted the lowest-ERA among starting pitchers in conference games at 1.91, while holding league competition to a .150 hitting clip in addition to a 5-0 record. He tossed a 4-1, complete game win against Charleston Southern on May 5, taking a perfect game into the sixth inning before settling for a three-hitter with eight strikeouts. Chasse received six first-place votes and 24 points in the voting, ahead of Charleston Southern’s Max Ryerson (three first-place votes and 16 points).
Guimbarda is the first Presbyterian College player since 2013 to be voted Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year and second overall. Earlier this month, Guimbarda was named a CoSIDA Academic All-District 4 honoree as he graduated with a 3.94 GPA in biology, and recently was awarded the Big South Graduate Fellowship for his medical school studies. He played all 56 of the Blue Hose’s regular-season games, batted .285 and tied for the team lead with seven home runs.
The Conference also announced the 2019 All-Conference and All-Academic teams on Tuesday afternoon, which are listed below. The All-Conference teams are voted by the head coaches, while the All-Academic Team consists of one student-athlete from each institution that meets the criteria and is nominated and selected by the league’s sports information directors.
2019 BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE BASEBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
FIRST-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
OF - Matthew Barefoot, R-Jr., Campbell
OF - Hunter Lipscomb, Sr., Winthrop
OF - Jeff Taylor, Soph., USC Upstate
INF - Chandler Redmond, Sr., Gardner-Webb
INF - Ryan Stoudermire, Jr., Charleston Southern
INF - Luis Gimenez, Sr., Campbell
INF - Brandon Lankford, Jr., UNC Asheville
C - Justin Kunz, Sr., Gardner-Webb
UTL - Kyle Butler, R-Sr., Radford
DH - J.D. Mundy, Jr., Radford
SP - Michael Horrell, Sr., Campbell
SP - Ryan Chasse, Fr., Campbell
SP - Nate Pawelczyk, Sr., Winthrop
RP - RJ Petit, Fr., Charleston Southern
RP - Colten Rendon, Jr., Winthrop
SECOND-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
OF - Zacchaeus Rasberry, Jr., Presbyterian
OF - Andrew Szamski, R-Sr., Radford
OF - Nick Guimbarda, Sr., Presbyterian
INF - Travis Holt, Soph., High Point
INF - Collin Wolf, Jr., Campbell
INF - Jason Miller, Sr., Charleston Southern
INF - Danny Wilson, Sr., UNC Asheville
C - Spencer Yankle, Jr., Winthrop
UTL - Daniel Millwee, Sr., High Point
DH - J.J. Shimko, Sr., USC Upstate
SP - Zach Peek, Jr., Winthrop
SP - Jackson Dean, R-Jr., Presbyterian
SP - Harrison Smith, R-Jr., High Point
RP - Bruce Hudson, R-Fr., Radford
RP - Will Wheeler, Jr., USC Upstate
HONORABLE MENTION ALL-CONFERENCE
Jimmy Marcelli, Jr., INF, Presbyterian
Antwaun Tucker, Jr., INF, Longwood
Eric Miles, Jr, SP, Presbyterian
Spencer Horwitz, Jr., INF, Radford
Austin Fahr, Sr., RP, UNC Asheville
ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Wyatt Tyson, Jr., RP, Campbell
Jaret Bennett, Jr., SP, Charleston Southern
Chandler Redmond, Sr., 2B, Gardner-Webb
Harrison Smith, R-Jr., RHP, High Point
Carlos Garrido, R-Jr., C, Longwood
Nick Guimbarda, Sr., OF, Presbyterian
Straton Podaras, Jr., C, Radford
Jordan Carr, Jr., P, UNC Asheville
Jordan Marks, Soph., RHP, USC Upstate
Hunter Lipscomb, Sr., OF, Winthrop
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Chandler Redmond, INF, Sr., Gardner-Webb
PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Michael Horrell, SP, Sr., Campbell
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Ryan Chasse, SP, Fr., Campbell
COACH OF THE YEAR
Rusty Stroupe, Gardner-Webb
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Nick Guimbarda, Sr., OF, Presbyterian