Big South Announces 2025 Baseball Annual Award Winners
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – High Point outfielder
Konni Durschlag (Charlotte, N.C.) and UNC Asheville hurler
Clay Edmondson (Greensboro, N.C.) have been voted the 2025 Big South Baseball Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, respectively, by the league’s head coaches, it was announced this morning. In addition, USC Upstate pitcher
Amp Phillips (Lancaster, S.C.) was tabbed Newcomer of the Year, High Point pitcher
Wade Walton (Lithia, Fla.) was selected Big South Freshman of the Year, and USC Upstate head coach
Kane Sweeney was voted Coach of the Year. Charleston Southern’s
Aidan McAskie (Toronto, Ontario) was voted Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the Big South’s sports information directors.
Durschlag is the first Panther to be voted Big South Player of the Year since 2018 and fourth overall. He is second in the nation with a .442 batting average (92 hits in 208 at-bats) -- currently the fourth-highest hitting clip in a single-season in Big South history. His 92 hits and 1.74 hits per game lead the conference and rank fifth nationally, he is second in NCAA Division I with a league-best .556 on-base percentage, and his 78 runs scored are tops in the conference and third in the country. A two-time Big South Player of the Week selection in 2025, Durschlag is one of two Big South players with at least 20 doubles (21) and 15 home runs (15) this season, and he is among the Conference leaders in slugging percentage (.769, 2nd), walks (37, T-6th), total bases (160, 2nd), RBI (56, T-7th), doubles (21, 2nd) and home runs (15, 5th). Named a d1baseball.com Midseason First-Team All-American in early April, Durschlag finished the regular-season with 29 multi-hit games -- including 13 three-hit efforts, along with 15 multi-RBI contests and a 12-game hitting streak. He completed the 24-game Big South season with a .438 batting average with six home runs, 28 RBI, 39 runs scored, 10 doubles, a .729 slugging clip and .571 on-base average. Durschlag received six first-place votes and 24 points in Big South Player of the Year balloting, ahead of USC Upstate’s
Johnny Sweeney (two first-place votes and 19 points), and Charleston Southern’s
Kaden Smith (one first-place vote and six points).
Edmondson is Asheville’s first Big South Pitcher of the Year honoree since 2008 (Alan DeRatt) and second overall, and was a near unanimous selection as he received eight of the nine first-place votes and 26 of the maximum 27 points. He concluded the season as the Big South leader in earned run average at 2.20 (11th in the nation), innings pitched with 81.2 and runners picked off (5), and tied as the strikeout leader with 87. Edmondson was 5-1 on the hill with a 1.13 WHIP and just four home runs allowed, and his .224 opponents’ batting average was second-lowest in the league. A two-time Big South Starting Pitcher of the Week honoree in 2025, Edmondson was 3-0 in Big South action with a 1.16 WHIP, and was tops with a 2.61 ERA, 51.2 innings pitched and 56 strikeouts, while holding opposing batters to a .219 average. Edmondson finished ahead of HPU’s Walton (13 points) and Upstate’s Phillips (11 points and remaining first-place vote) in the Pitcher of the Year balloting.
Phillips is the second Big South Baseball Newcomer of the Year, which was added in 2024 to recognize the top non-freshman transfer playing in the Big South for the first time. He appeared in 18 games with 10 starts, went 6-2 plus two saves, and tossed 69.0 innings with 67 strikeouts and a league-leading .218 opponents’ batting average. A four-time Big South Starting Pitcher of the Week selection, Phillips concluded the regular-season ranked among the Conference leaders in wins (6, T-4th), innings pitched (69, 6th), strikeouts (67, T-5th), batters struck out looking (22, T-3rd), fewest runs allowed (31, 3rd) and second in ERA (4.04). Phillips recorded six scoreless outings and five quality starts this season, and went 6-1 with a 2.74 earned run average with 50 strikeouts during the conference campaign -- while holding opposing Big South hitters to a .173 hitting clip. He collected 14 points (one first-place vote) in Newcomer of the Year voting, ahead of CSU’s Smith (11 points, two first-place votes) and High Point’s
Landen Johnson (seven points, one first-place vote)
.
Walton is High Point’s first Big South Freshman of the Year honoree since 2007 (Robby Kuzdale) and second overall. The Panthers’ Friday night starter all season went 8-3 during in 2025 with 87 strikeouts and a 4.41 earned run average in 79.2 innings pitched. His eight victories, two complete games (12th in the nation) and 9.83 strikeouts per 9 innings all lead the Big South, while his 87 punchouts are tied for the top spot in the conference. In league contests, Walton was 4-1 with a 4.70 ERA, 54 strikeouts, 10.57 K’s per 9 innings and a .226 opponents’ batting average. A three-time Big South Starting Pitcher of the Week honoree this year, Walton received five first-place votes and 23 points in Freshman of the Year polling, ahead of USC Upstate’s
Henry Zenor (one first-place vote and 12 points) and Winthrop’s
Josh Skowronski (one) and UNC Asheville’s
Rylen Stockton (one), who tied with seven points each.
Sweeney was voted Big South Coach of the Year after leading the Spartans to the program’s first-ever Big South regular-season championship in his first year at the helm. Upstate won the outright title with its 19-5 record and won seven of the eight conference series -- including five 3-0 sweeps. The Spartans stand 33-23 overall and closed the regular-season with a 12-2 mark. Upstate collected notable non-conference wins over Boston College, Troy, Stetson and N.C. State, and enters this week’s Big South Baseball Championship as the league leader in ERA (5.49), opponent batting average (.267), innings pitched (491.2), strikeouts (468) and fewest hits allowed (9.35 per game). Upstate scored 10+ runs in a game 23 times -- including three games with 20+. The Spartans hit .318 as a team with 90 home runs, 539 runs scored, 84 stolen bases and a .520 slugging percentage. In Conference games, Upstate batted .344 with 46 homers and was tops with a 3.72 ERA and 215 strikeouts. Sweeney received seven first-place votes and 24 points in the Coach of the Year voting, ahead of Radford’s
Alex Guerra (14 points and one first-place vote) and High Point’s
Joey Hammond (nine points).
McAskie is a 3.91 student majoring in Financial Management. He finished the 2025 regular-season with 11 home runs, 43 RBI, a .311 batting average, 45 runs scored, 11 doubles, .575 slugging clip and .445 on-base percentage in helping the Buccaneers capture the No. 3 seed in this week’s Big South Championship tournament.
The Conference also announced the 2025 All-Conference, All-Freshman and All-Academic teams on Tuesday morning, which are listed below. The All-Conference and All-Freshman 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.
2025 BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE BASEBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
FIRST-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
OF – Konni Durschlag, High Point
OF – Miggy Echazarreta, High Point
OF – Scott Campbell, USC Upstate
INF – Brayden Simpson, High Point
INF – Vance Sheahan, USC Upstate
INF – Gabe Natividad, Winthrop
INF – Hunter Keen, Radford
C – Preston Lucas, USC Upstate
UTL – Myles Webb, Longwood
DH – Johnny Sweeney, USC Upstate
SP – Clay Edmondson, UNC Asheville
SP – Wade Walton, High Point
SP – Amp Phillips, USC Upstate
RP – Ryan DuSang, Charleston Southern
RP – Adam Grintz, High Point
SECOND-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
OF – Scott Newman, USC Upstate
OF – Christian Smith, High Point
OF – Josh Skowronski, Winthrop
INF – Trey Fenderson, Presbyterian
INF – Breckin Nace, Radford
INF – Jackson Melton, High Point
INF – Landen Johnson, High Point
C – Rylen Stockton, UNC Asheville
UTL – Harrison Wilson, Winthrop
DH – Kaden Smith, Charleston Southern
SP – Chris Torres, USC Upstate
SP – Darin Kuskie, USC Upstate
SP – Owen Sarna, Winthrop
RP – Tyler Henshaw, Charleston Southern
RP – Cooper Ellingworth, USC Upstate
HONORABLE MENTION ALL-CONFERENCE
James Ward, INF, Radford
AJ Martin, INF, Charleston Southern
Ryan Kennell, INF, Gardner-Webb
Max Bianchini, RP, USC Upstate
Henry Zenor, OF, USC Upstate
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Wade Walton, SP, High Point
Rylen Stockton, C, UNC Asheville
Josh Skowronski, OF, Winthrop
Henry Zenor, OF, USC Upstate
Tyrell Williams, SP, Presbyterian
Mikey Urbaniak, C, Longwood
Eli Hudgins, UTL, Radford
ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Aidan McAskie, Charleston Southern
Michael Ciminiello, Gardner-Webb
James Murphy, High Point
James Nelson, Longwood
Jake Randolph, Presbyterian
Breckin Nace, Radford
Owen Michelson, UNC Asheville
Braden Consaul, USC Upstate
Shane Keup, Winthrop
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Konni Durschlag, OF, High Point
PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Clay Edmondson, UNC Asheville
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Amp Phillips, SP, USC Upstate
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Wade Walton, SP, High Point
COACH OF THE YEAR
Kane Sweeney, USC Upstate
SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Aidan McAskie, Charleston Southern