Six Kats earn all-CUSA honors
5/21/2024 12:05:00 PM | Baseball
DALLAS – Conference USA officials unveiled its 2024 all-conference baseball team on Tuesday with six Sam Houston Bearkats earning honors, headlined by catcher Walker Janek being named the league's Defensive Player of the Year. Â
In addition to earning a postseason superlative, Janek and starting pitcher Coltin Atkinson were also named to the league's first team. Starting pitcher Michael Watson and reliever Chandler David each landed on the second team while Jace Martinez and Ryan Peterson were each named to CUSA's All-Freshman Team.Â
Teams and awards were voted on by the league's head coaches with Louisiana Tech two-way player Ethan Bates being named CUSA's Player of the Year. Â
Dallas Baptist walked away with the bulk of the postseason superlatives, including Ryan Johnson as Pitcher of the Year, Luke Pettitte as Freshman of the Year and Michael Dattalo as Newcomer of the Year. Â
The Kats will open CUSA Tournament play on Wednesday as the No. 4 seed, taking on No. 5 Liberty in the opening round at 7:30 p.m. at JC Love Field in Ruston, La.Â
Each game leading up to the title game of the tournament can be seen on ESPN+, while Sunday's championship game will air nationally on CBS Sports Network. Â Â
Walker Janek – Defensive Player of the Year; 1st Team All-CUSA (C)Â
The honors add to an ever-growing list of accolades for the Bearkat catcher, just a day after he was named a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award. The junior is rated as the No. 25 prospect for the upcoming MLB Draft by MLB Pipeline and is widely regarded as the possible first catcher off the board in July.Â
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Janek has posted an impressive offensive stat line in 2024 and enters Ruston, leading the league in OPS (On-Base + Slugging) with a 1.226 mark, anchored by 15 doubles and CUSA-marks of 17 home runs and five triples. He is hitting .381 for the season with 57 RBI and needs just three more RBI in Ruston to become the first Kat in program history with consecutive seasons of 60+ RBI.Â
Those offensive numbers are bolstered even further by what he has done behind the plate where he has almost singlehandedly eliminated opponent's running games in 2024, throwing out 15 of 29 attempted base stealers this season with a pair of pickoffs.Â
Coltin Atkinson – 1st Team All-CUSA (SP)Â
A preseason all-CUSA selection, Atkinson has lived up to the billing in his senior season and has toed the rubber for each series opener for the Bearkats this year. He ranks no lower than seventh in CUSA in each of the primary statistical categories, including third in ERA (3.62) and wins (6), second in innings pitched (79.2), sixth in strikeouts (73) and seventh in opponent's batting average (.259). Â
Atkinson was twice named the CUSA Pitcher of the Week after performances against Oklahoma State and at NM State, and has gone at least 5.0 innings in 13 of his 14 starts this year. Â
Along the way he has moved his way up the Bearkat all-time list in several categories, including ranking second all-time with 246 strikeouts and picking up his 25th career win in the regular season finale vs Jax State while running his inning total up to 264.0.Â
Michael Watson – 2nd Team All-CUSA (SP)Â
Few newcomers have had as big of an impact on the 2024 Bearkats as Watson who joined the team for his final collegiate season after earning all-American honors at the NAIA level at Southwestern Assemblies of God. Â
He opened the year pitching in relief but has cemented a spot in the weekend rotation, making a dozen starts on the season. He has posted a 6-1 record and 3.88 ERA, logging 65.0 innings in 16 total appearances. Â
Watson has punched out 84 hitters this year, the most by a Bearkat since Hayden Wesneski's 110 in 2019, while his .204 opponent batting average ranks second in CUSA, only behind league pitcher of the year Ryan Johnson of DBU.Â
Chandler David – 2nd Team All-CUSA (RP)Â
David entered 2024 with high expectations after earning first team all-WAC honors in 2023 and has done his part to uphold those preseason merits. He is on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year watch list and stands third in CUSA with seven saves, ranking only behind LA Tech's Ethan Bates and WKU's Mason Burns who are tied for the national lead with 15 saves each.Â
He has posted a 4-3 record and 3.60 ERA this season, giving him 10 career wins in relief in just two years as a Kat. He has logged 45.0 relief innings, punching out 51 hitters with only 12 walks in that span while holding hitters to a .224 average.Â
Jace Martinez –All-Freshman TeamÂ
Martinez has been a mainstay in the starting lineup throughout the season, making 54 starts at shortstop after becoming the first true freshman to start at shortstop on Opening Night for the Bearkats since 2019. Â
He's come up with a number of key moments throughout the year and has driven in 23 runs this season on 40 hits with seven doubles and three triples. He is also second on the team with 14 stolen bases in 15 tries and will enter the CUSA Tournament tied for tops in the league with 47 walks drawn.Â
Ryan Peterson – All-Freshman TeamÂ
Peterson has turned into one of the Kats' most trusted arms as the year has progressed, making 14 total appearances and three starts as a true freshman. He earned his first career win in his first career start, a 5.0-inning outing against Rice on XX which included seven strikeouts.Â
In all he has logged 30.1 innings and held hitters to a .209 average, striking out 24 while walking only six batters.
