DALLAS, Texas – Jax State baseball earned 13 All-Conference honors and superlatives in this year's Conference USA postseason awards, the league announced Tuesday afternoon.

The Gamecocks earned three superlatives, with Steve Bieser winning his first CUSA Keith LeClair Coach of the Year honor and third of his career, Ryan Kramer earning Assistant Coach of the Year, and Jaxon Pate earning Freshman of the Year.

STEVE BIESER - KEITH LECLAIR COACH OF THE YEAR
Bieser led the Gamecocks to the first 40+ win season in their Division I history, finishing the regular season at 42-13, as well as the team's first conference championship since 2019, winning Conference USA's regular season crown.  The Perryville, Mo., native won his 400th career game earlier this season, and currently has 97 wins as the Jax State skipper.

RYAN KRAMER - ASSISTANT COACH OF THE YEAR
Despite arriving to Jacksonville in December, Ryan Kramer has had a huge impact on the Gamecocks pitching staff, leading the Gamecocks to a team ERA of 3.30, which is a top five ERA in Division I. The pitching staff has accumulated 555 strikeouts and has only surrendered 229 walks for a K/BB ratio of 2.42:1. The Gamecocks are also a top five team in shutouts with six, and is top 20 in strikeouts-per-nine-innings at 10.5. The Gamecocks are third in the nation in hits allowed per nine innings with 7.10.

JAXON PATE - FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR / FIRST TEAM ALL CONFERENCE / ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Jaxon Pate has been a large part of Jax State's success this season, leading off the team as a redshirt freshman. Since taking over the lead-off spot, Jaxon Pate has hit at a .376 clip, with 53 hits and 10 extra base hits (nine doubles and one homer). Pate is patient at the plate with 43 free bases, with 37 walks (team high) and six HBP. Pate ranks fourth in the league in batting average at .344 and has the third-highest on-base percentage in the league at .461. He also has the second-most hits on the Gamecocks squad with 64 and his OB% is the second-highest on the squad.

In addition to superlatives, the Gamecocks earned 10 All-Conference honors. Grayson Ashe, Jaxon Pate, Eli Pillsbury, and Skyler Hutto earned First Team All-Conference honors, while Caleb Johnson, Trey King, Beau Bryans, Steven Cash, and Maddox McDougall earned Second Team All-Conference honors. Pate was named to the CUSA All-Freshman team as well.

FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
GRAYSON ASHE
With a week left in the regular season, Ashe is top three in CUSA with 56 RBI, and tied with one other for the second-most sac flies in CUSA with six. Ashe accounts for 61 hits, a top-three figure for Jax State, and has seven home runs this season. Ashe has 35 total free bases (22 walks, 13 HBP). With an on-base percentage of .408 and slugging percentage of .416, he holds an .916 OPS. Ashe leads the team with 488 putouts and a fielding percentage of .990. Ashe was the league player of the week on March 9, where he had a six-RBI game in the first game of a double header against Valparaiso.

ELI PILLSBURY
Part of the three man rotation that has led Jax State to 42 wins so far this season, a National Pitcher of the Year Semifinalist from the College Baseball Hall of Fame, and a Midseason All-American by multiple publications (D1Baseball, Perfect Game). At the time of nomination, Pillsbury carriesd a record of 6-1 this season with an ERA of 2.86, a bottom-five figure in the league, and a WHIP of 1.08. In 69.1 innings pitched, he only allowed 22 earned runs and 81 strikeouts, the fourth-most in CUSA. He also carried the fourth-lowest BAA of CUSA starters at .210. 

SKYLER HUTTO
Skyler Hutto has turned in an elite season with 12 saves to his ledger, leading CUSA and ranking in the top three nationally. Hutto was named to the Midseason Stopper of the Year watch list from the NCBWA earlier in April. Through 24 appearances, he carries a 1.54 ERA and an .86 WHIP, going 4-3 during the season. In 35 innings, he had only allowed 16 hits, eight runs (six earned), and has struck out 37 while only walking 14. Hutto has a team low .137 BAA.

SECOND TEAM
CALEB JOHNSON
Johnson currently has the second-highest slugging percentage on the team at .545, with 20 doubles, two triples, and seven homers, tied for the most on the team. Johnson has 58 hits this season, a top-five figure on the team, and carries an OB% of .412. Johnson was a CUSA Player of the Week on March 2, where he posted a batting average of .588 with three doubles and a homer, and was a part of seven of the eight double plays Jax State turned that week. Johnson currently has 20 stolen bases on the season, the second-most on the team, and a combined 10 sacrifices (two sac flies, eight sac bunts). 

TREY KING
Trey King is one of the hottest batters on the Gamecocks team, belting a .333 batting average (second on the team) with a team-high 66 and 18 extra base hits (13 doubles, two triples, three homers). King holds 32 free bases with 25 walks and seven HBP. He holds the third-highest OB% on the team of .421. Since the start of April, King has slashed at a .435/.638/.524 clip, with a team-high 30 hits, seven doubles, two triples, a homer, and a team-high 18 RBI. This year, King has nine sacrifices, three sac flies and six sac bunts.

BEAU BRYANS
Part of the three man rotation that has led Jax State to 42 wins so far this season. Prior to the weekend, he led the team with a 7-0 record, tied for second in CUSA with seven victories. Through 56.2 innings, Bryans gave up 15 earned runs for an ERA of 2.38, with 65 strikeouts and a .203 BAA, the lowest BAA against a starting pitcher in CUSA. In his 46 hits, Bryans only allowed nine XBH all season, keeping opponents from getting big hits against him. 

STEVEN CASH
Part of the three man rotation that has led Jax State to 42 wins so far this season and a member of the Preseason CUSA All-Conference team. Cash has registered a career-high 83 strikeouts so far, a top-five figure in the league. Cash also has the second-lowest BAA in CUSA at .205, with only 55 hits in 74 innings. Cash carries an ERA of 2.92, a career-low, with only 24 earned runs this season. Cash completed the second shutout of his career against New Mexico State, pitching seven innings of shut down baseball.

MADDOX MCDOUGALL
McDougall has been a key piece of the Gamecocks bullpen, with 19 appearances and a single start this season. McDougall has made several appearances in long relief with five outings of 3.0+ innings. Recently against NMSU, McDougall struck out all seven batters that he faced in the contest for a new career-high in the category. Through 43.2 innings, he carries a 2.47 ERA and 1.08 WHIP, with 36 hits and only 12 runs scored. He has 45 strikeouts to only 10 walks, carrying a BAA of .225.