Baseball | April 30, 2026

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Nine USCA baseball student-athletes earned PBC all-conference honors, the league announced Thursday.

Head coach Keith Gorman's squad landed five student-athletes on the first team and four on the second team.

Yariel Diaz, Evan Harding, Salvatore Laimo, CJ Lincoln and Joseph Rauscher garnered first-team honors, while Donovan Glisson, Maverick Grigsby, Chancellor Jennings and Ben Shepherd earned second-team honors.

Diaz, a native of Orlando, Fla., started all 50 games and is batting .363 with 58 RBI, 78 hits and 47 runs and is slugging .535. Diaz tied the school record with a five-hit performance and tied the school and league mark with four doubles in a game in the victory over Claflin. He added a season-high four RBI against the Panthers. 

Glisson, a native of Loxahatchee, Fla., played in 41 games, earning 38 starts and is hitting .345 with a .459 slugging percentage. Glisson has 51 hits, has scored 35 runs and has driven in 30 runs. Defensively, he has thrown out 10 runners attempting to steal. Glisson registered a season-high three hits in the series opener against North Georgia.

Grigsby, a native of Lugoff, S.C., played in 49 games with 48 starts and is batting .324 with 61 hits. Grigsby has 44 RBI and has scored 45 times. He has 10 doubles and a triple on the year and owns .427 on-base percentage. Grigsby has 19 multi-hit contests to his credit. 

Harding, a native of Clayton, N.C., has played in 46 games with 43 starts and is hitting .389 with 77 hits. Harding has crossed home plate 63 times and has 45 RBI while slugging .606. He has 19 doubles, six home runs and three triples on the year. Harding garnered a season-high four hits in the win at GCSU and scored a season-best four times in the victory over Augusta.  

Jennings, a native of Batesburg, S.C., started all 50 games and is batting .367. His 80 hits are tied for first in the PBC. Jennings has scored 63 times and has driven in 43 runs. He has nine doubles, seven triples and six home runs on the year and is slugging .555. Jennings tied the school record with a five-hit performance in the win at Erskine. He had the game-tying home run in the bottom of the ninth inning in a win over Lynn before later delivering a game-winning home run against North Georgia. 

Laimo, a native of Philadelphia, Pa., started all 50 games and is hitting .391. He is tied for fourth in the league with 77 hits on the year. Laimo has 60 RBI and has scored 60 times while carrying a .487 slugging percentage. He's rattled off 28 multi-hit contests on the season. Laimo drove in a season-high four runs in the win over Claflin and swiped a season-best four bases in the win over Georgia Southwestern.   

Lincoln, a native of Aiken, S.C., has a 3.55 ERA. The standout has appeared in 22 contests and has five wins to go along with four saves in 45.2 innings of work. Lincoln has 44 strikeouts and is limiting opponents to a .199 batting average. He has only allowed 32 hits on the season. Lincoln posted a season-high five strikeouts against Columbus State. 

Rauscher, a native of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., is third in the PBC with a 3.57 ERA. He is 8-1 on the season and has started 13 games. Rauscher has tossed 80.2 innings and has 74 strikeouts while allowing just 30 walks. Rauscher has won his last five decisions. He has tossed at least six innings 11 times this year.  

Shepherd, a native of Trion, Ga., started his career with an opening-day no-hitter in the win over Mars Hill. The right-handed hurler picked up four wins on the season while earning 13 starts. He has a 4.28 ERA and limited the opposition to a .202 batting average. Shepherd recorded 42 strikeouts on the year. He notched at least five strikeouts on four occasions.  

The nine student-athletes earning all-PBC accolades mark the most in a single season in program history.

First Team All-Conference 
1B- Yariel Diaz, USCA
2B- Jackson Chizek, Columbus State
2B- Salvatore Laimo, USCA
3B- Payton Palladino, Flagler
SS- Ben Hamacher, North Georgia
C- Kyle Robitzsch, North Georgia
DH- Evan Wainman, Georgia Southwestern
UT- Jackson Chizek, Columbus State
OF- George Gilson, Flagler
OF- Evan Cowan, GCSU
OF- Jax Yoxtheimer, Columbus State
OF- Evan Harding, USCA
SP- Evan Koehler, Georgia Southwestern
SP- CJ Hanson, Flagler
SP- Joseph Rauscher, USCA
SP- Matthew Heard, North Georgia
RP- Cooper Sain, Georgia Southwestern
RP- CJ Lincoln, USCA
RP- Joshua Sanchez, Lander

Second Team All-Conference 
1B- Cayden Evans, Columbus State
2B- Brady Skipper, North Georgia
2B- Kelsen Johnson, Georgia Southwestern
3B- Maverick Grigsby, USCA
3B- Patrick Crosby, Middle Georgia
SS- Nolan Turner, Augusta
C- Donovan Glisson, USCA
C- Sebastian Collender, Middle Georgia
DH- Cam Hodge, North Georgia
UT- JD Coleman, North Georgia
OF- Oliver Zohn, Lander
OF- Jake Streeter, North Georgia
OF- Devon Murphy, Georgia Southwestern
OF- Chancellor Jennings, USCA
OF- Brody Winter, Lander
SP- Johnny Nutt, Georgia Southwestern
SP- Andrew Duval, North Georgia
SP- Kevin  Cox, North Georgia
SP- Ben Shepherd, USCA

Player of the Year

George Gilson, Flagler

Pitcher of the Year

Evan Koehler, Georgia Southwestern

Freshman of the Year

Johnny Nutt, Georgia Southwestern

Coach of the Year

Nolan Belcher, North Georgia

Elite 18 Award

Tams Mullins, GCSU