CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Liberty junior second baseman Ryan Seiz has been voted the 2014 Big South Baseball Player of the Year, while Liberty skipper Jim Toman was tabbed the 2014 Coach of the Year by the League’s head coaches, the Conference announced today. The coaches voted Flames’ hurler Trey Lambert Pitcher of the Year and Liberty pitcher Parker Bean the League’s Freshman of the Year. Lambert was also voted Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the League’s sports information directors.
Seiz, a junior from Perkasie, Pa., finished the season ranked No. 1 in the Big South in four offensive categories. He turned in a League-best 11 home runs, to go along with a Conference-best 52 runs scored, 131 total bases and a .627 slugging percentage. A Dick Howser Trophy Semifinalist and Greg Olson Award Watch List honoree, Seiz was named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association National Player of the Week on March 3. A two-time Big South Player of the Week honoree, he finished the regular-season ranked No. 3 in the Big South with 78 hits. His .453 on-base percentage is currently good for third in the League, while his .373 average at the plate is currently No. 4 in the Big South. He also drove in 40 runs this season to rank tied for seventh in the Conference. In Conference only games, Seiz tied for second in the League with a .410 batting average and 10 doubles. Seiz received seven top votes and 19 points, to finish ahead of Charleston Southern’s Bobby Ison who garnered three first-place votes and 10 points.
Toman guided his squad to the Big South North Division title and No. 1 overall seed in the Big South after posting a 23-3 and 39-14 overall record. His Flames are currently ranked No. 21 in the nation as Liberty picked up its first Big South Regular-Season Title since 2000. Liberty ranks No. 1 in the Big South Conference with a combined 2.59 ERA, while batting .280 to rank No. 2. The Flames’ pitching staff has held opponents to a Conference-low .220 average at the plate, while posting a Conference-best 403 strike outs. Offensively, Liberty is tops in the League with 32 home runs and is second with 99 doubles and 513 hits. The honor marks his first Big South Coach of the Year plaudit for his career. Toman was a unanimous selection as he finished with 36 points from the panel. Greg Goff of Campbell placed second in the voting with 10 points.
Lambert, a senior from Tazewell, Va., turned in a League-best 10 wins during the 2014 campaign. A National Pitcher of the Year Watch List honoree, he recorded a pair of shutouts to rank second in the Big South and finished the season ranked No. 4 in the League with three complete games. The right-hander’s 91 innings-pitched and opponent batting average of .219 were both good for No. 6 in the Big South. He was named the Big South’s Pitcher of the Week on March 31 as he turned in a one-hit complete game win over Presbyterian College. He struck out seven Blue Hose hitters in the outing. He finished the season with a 2.18 ERA and 59 strikeouts. Lambert picked up nine top votes from the panel to finish with 19 points, as Campbell’s Ryan Thompson placed No. 2 in the voting with one top vote and eight points.
Bean, a right-handed pitcher from Hanover, Pa., was named an NCAA.com Top Performer and Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week after posting a career-best 16 strikeouts and came within two outs of a no-hitter in the win over VMI on April 6. He followed that effort with 11 strikeouts in a complete-game win over Longwood on April. 13. Bean posted seven wins during the 2014 season to rank No. 5 in the Big South and his 75 strikeouts this season is currently ranked No. 6 in the Conference. He held his opponents to a .224 average at the plate to rank No. 9 in the League. He closed the regular-season out with a 2.64 ERA in 71.2 innings-pitched. Bean received seven top bids and 16 points, ahead of Coastal Carolina’s Andrew Beckwith (two top votes), Gardner-Webb’s Matt Simmons (one top vote) and Josh Green of High Point (one top vote), who received four points.
Lambert was named a CoSIDA Academic All-District III selection this season and is a two-time member of the Big South Presidential Honor roll. He also garnered the 2014 Rock Royer/Mac Rivera Award, honoring the top graduating senior student-athlete at Liberty.
2014 Big South Conference Baseball Award Winners
Player of the Year
Ryan Seiz, Jr., Liberty
Pitcher of the Year
Trey Lambert, Sr., Liberty
Freshman of the Year
Parker Bean, RHP, Liberty
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Trey Lambert, RHP, Liberty
Coach of the Year
Jim Toman, Liberty
First Team
Outfield
Bobby, Ison, Jr., Charleston Southern
TJ Olesczuk, R-Jr, Winthrop
Patrick Marshall, Jr, Radford
Infield
Ryan Seiz, Jr., Liberty
Alex Tomasovich, Sr., Charleston Southern
Spencer Angelis, Jr., High Point
Alex Close, Jr., Liberty
Catcher
Danny Grauer, Sr., Liberty
Utility
Connor Owings, So., Coastal Carolina
Designated Hitter
Andrew Widell, Jr., Charleston Southern
Starting Pitcher
Trey Lambert, Sr., Liberty
Parker Bean, Fr., Liberty
Aaron Myers, Jr., Longwood
Relief Pitcher
Ryan Thompson, Sr., Campbell
Second Team
Outfield
Brandon Angus, Jr., VMI
Nick Berry, Sr., Charleston Southern
Dane McDermott, Jr., High Point
Infield
Matt Dickason, Sr., Longwood
Alexander Lee, Sr., Radford
Hunter Higgerson, Jr., Radford
Dalton Britt, So., Liberty
Catcher
Josh Spano, Jr., High Point
Designated Hitter
Matt Simmons, Fr., Gardner-Webb
Starting Pitcher
John McGillicuddy, Jr., High Point
Heath Bowers, Jr., Campbell
Reed Garrett, Jr., VMI
Relief Pitcher
Ashton Perritt, Jr., Liberty
Honorable Mention (in no particular order)
Josh Green, OF, Fr., High Point
John Reilly, INF, Sr., Campbell
Chase Shelton, INF, Jr., Charleston Southern
Ryan Koopman, RHP, Sr., Campbell
Matt Fraudin, RHP, Jr., Gardner-Webb
All-Academic Team
Matt Parrish, Jr., OF, Campbell
Alex Tomasovich, Grad. Student, 3B, Charleston Southern
Tyler Chadwick, So, C, Coastal Carolina
Andrew Barnett, Sr., RHP, Gardner-Webb
John McGillicuddy, Jr., RHP, High Point
Trey Lambert, Sr., RHP, Liberty
Kyri Washington, So., OF, Longwood
Brad Zebedis, Sr., 1B, Presbyterian College
Patrick Marshall, Jr., OF, Radford
Eli Miller, Sr., INF/OF, UNC Asheville
David Geary, So., 3B, VMI
TJ Olesczuk, R-Jr., OF, Winthrop