Big South Conference

Big South Announces Baseball Players of the Week - March 2

3/2/2026 3:28:00 PM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – Winthrop utility player Jaylen Hernandez (Brooklyn, N.Y.) has been named the Big South Baseball Player of the Week, while UNC Asheville's Drew Turner (Downingtown, Pa.) is the Starting Pitcher of the Week for games played Feb. 23-March 1, it was announced today. In addition, USC Upstate's Jacob Kirby (Waxhaw, N.C.) was selected as the Relief Pitcher of the Week, while Longwood pitcher Jackson Garland (Mechanicsville, Va.) is the Freshman of the Week honoree.
 
Hernandez batted .538 on the week (7-13) with two doubles and three home runs (in three consecutive days) all for 10 RBI and 18 total bases.  He slugged at a clip of 1.385 while recording an OB% of .667.  Hernandez started the week going 2-3 with an RBI against Marshall.  He then opened the series against Maine with a 3-4 day with a double, home run and four RBIs.  Hernandez followed that up with a 1-3 with another home run in game two.  He finished the series against Maine with his third home run in as many days and three RBIs.
 
Turner earned a 7-1 win over Jackson State on Saturday for his second win of the season.  He allowed just one run on four hits with three walks, and fanned a school single-game record 14 batters of the 24 he faced in just six innings on the mound. Turner held opposing batters to a .190 batting average.
 
Kirby paced USC Upstate’s bullpen with 5.0 scoreless innings across two outings last week, allowing just two hits and five total baserunners while striking out three. He held opposing hitters to a .133 batting average. The right-hander opened his week with 3.0 scoreless innings of relief against Stetson, entering in the third inning and permitting just one hit before settling in. Kirby returned to the mound in Saturday’s doubleheader at Georgia Southern, tossing 2.0 scoreless frames. He entered in the seventh inning and retired the side in order to cap his week.
 
Garland made two relief appearances against Youngstown State and earned the win in Game 4 to clinch the series. He tossed 3.2 innings in the series finale, allowing just two hits while striking out six. Over his two outings, the right-hander struck out seven, surrendered only two hits and finished the week with a 0.00 ERA. He faced the minimum over three innings of relief work in Game 4.
 
Also nominated for Player of the Week: Chandler Tuupo (Charleston Southern), Ryan Kennell (Gardner-Webb), Tre Keels (Longwood), Amman Dewberry (Presbyterian) and Johnny Sweeney (USC Upstate).
 
Also nominated for Starting Pitcher of the Week: Brady Bickett (Charleston Southern), Reid Bertram (Gardner-Webb), Ty Brachbill (High Point), Jaxon Lloyd (Longwood), Max Kaplan (USC Upstate) and Luke Earnhardt (Winthrop).
 
Also nominated for Relief Pitcher of the Week: Drew Dawson (Charleston Southern), Colby Putnam (Gardner-Webb), Jack Carey (High Point), JR Fordham (Longwood), Mikey Marroquin (Presbyterian), Daniel Quintana (Radford) and Ben Rehkow (Winthrop). 
 
Also nominated for Freshman of the Week: Aiden Smith (Charleston Southern), Colby Putnam (Gardner-Webb), Jonathan Williams (Presbyterian), Jacob Kirby (USC Upstate) and Garrett Byrd (Winthrop).