NEW ORLEANS – Following a vote of the conference’s 14 head coaches, Louisiana’s Kyle DeBarge, Louisiana’s LP Langevin, App State’s Banks Tolley, Louisiana’s Chase Morgan, Georgia Southern’s Sam Blancato and Louisiana’s Matt Deggs received the Sun Belt Conference baseball postseason accolades, which were released alongside the 2024 All-Sun Belt Teams on Monday.
Louisiana swept the Sun Belt Baseball Player of the Year—DeBarge—and Pitcher of the Year—Langevin—honors. App State’s Tolley was named the Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year, while Louisiana’s Morgan was tabbed the Freshman of the Year. Georgia Southern’s Blancato was selected as the second-annual recipient of the Tony Robichaux Leadership Award and Louisiana’s Deggs was honored as the Ron Maestri Coach of the Year.
Junior shortstop DeBarge paced the Sun Belt with 168 total bases and 151 assists, while ranking second with 21 home runs, a .730 slugging percentage and a 1.159 OPS. The Kinder, La., product also ranked among the Top 10 in the league with 83 hits, 67 RBIs, 61 runs scored and a .361 batting average.
Junior right-handed pitcher Langevin led the Sun Belt with 97 strikeouts, a .163 opposing batting average, 33 hits allowed, 23 runs allowed, seven doubles allowed and zero triples allowed out of the Ragin’ Cajuns bullpen. The Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, native also ranked among the Top 10 in the league with a 3.43 ERA, seven saves, six wins and 14 games finished.
Senior outfielder Tolley paced the Sun Belt with a .385 batting average, a .798 slugging percentage and 25 home runs, while ranking second with 166 total bases and 71 RBIs. The Madison, Miss., native also ranked among the Top 10 in the league with a .490 on-base percentage, 80 hits and 66 runs scored.
Freshman left-handed pitcher Morgan led the Sun Belt with a 2.76 ERA, 20 earned runs allowed and one home run allowed, while ranking second behind Louisiana teammate Langevin with a .202 opposing batting average, 48 hits allowed and 25 runs allowed. The Cypress, Texas, native also ranked among the Top 10 in the league with 65.1 innings pitched, 17 walks allowed and nine doubles allowed.
Redshirt senior outfielder Blancato started all 55 games for the Eagles this season, hitting .270 with seven home runs, 11 doubles, 12 stolen bases, 37 walks, 39 RPI, 40 runs scored and 87 total bases. The Marietta, Ga., native is well-respected amongst his peers—serving as a team leader on and off the field. Blancato embodies the on and off field principles that late Louisiana head coach Tony Robichaux preached to his players and community, making him an ideal recipient of the Tony Robichaux Leadership Award.
Fifth-year Louisiana head coach Deggs guided the Ragin’ Cajuns to a 40-16 record, including a Sun Belt-leading 23-7 mark to earn the outright regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship presented by Troy University. Louisiana, which clinched its second-straight 40-win campaign in the regular-season finale, is 1-of-13 teams nationally to reach the 40-win plateau during the regular season.
The Sun Belt boasts five Top 55 RPI teams entering this week’s Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship presented by Troy University.
Those top five RPI teams—Coastal Carolina, James Madison, Louisiana, Southern Miss and Troy—combined to claim 21-of-28 All-Sun Belt nods. Regular-season champion Louisiana led all programs with four All-Sun Belt First Team honorees, while Troy paced the conference with six overall selections.
All 10 programs that qualified for the Sun Belt Baseball Championship are currently listed among the Top 105 in the RPI.
Troy (6), Louisiana (5), Southern Miss (5), Coastal Carolina (4) and App State (2) each had multiple All-Sun Belt recipients. 11-of-14 Sun Belt programs were represented on the two All-Sun Belt teams, including all 10 that qualified for the conference tournament.
Player of the Year
Kyle DeBarge, Louisiana (Jr., SS – Kinder, La.)
Pitcher of the Year
LP Langevin, Louisiana (Jr., RHP – Quebec City, Quebec, Canada)
Newcomer of the Year
Banks Tolley, App State (Sr., OF – Madison, Miss.)
Freshman of the Year
Chase Morgan, Louisiana (Fr., LHP – Cypress, Texas)
Tony Robichaux Leadership Award
Sam Blancato, Georgia Southern (RS Sr., OF – Marietta, Ga.)
Ron Maestri Coach of the Year
Matt Deggs, Louisiana
All-Sun Belt First Team
P Chase Morgan, Louisiana (Fr., LHP – Cypress, Texas)
P Bryce Blevins, Marshall (So., LHP – Louisa, Ky.)
P Billy Oldham, Southern Miss (Sr., RHP – Brookfield, Conn.)
RP LP Langevin, Louisiana (Jr., RHP – Quebec City, Quebec, Canada)
C Brooks Bryan, Troy (So., C – Opelika, Ala.)
1B Trey LaFleur, Louisiana (Sr., 1B – Pensacola, Fla.)
2B Blake Barthol, Coastal Carolina (So., 2B – Allentown, Pa.)
SS Kyle DeBarge, Louisiana (Jr., SS – Kinder, La.)
3B Sam Antonacci, Coastal Carolina (Jr., 3B – Springfield, Ill.)
OF Banks Tolley, App State (Sr., OF – Madison, Miss.)
OF Graham Brown, Coastal Carolina (Super Sr., OF – Middletown, Md.)
OF Fenwick Trimble, James Madison (Jr., OF – Virginia Beach, Va.)
DH Slade Wilks, Southern Miss (Sr., DH – Columbia, Miss.)
UT Austin St. Laurent, App State (RS Jr., UT – Elon, N.C.)
All-Sun Belt Second Team
P Andrew Herrmann, Louisiana (Jr., LHP – Kennesaw, Ga.)
P Niko Mazza, Southern Miss (Jr., RHP – Madison, Miss.)
P Luke Lyon, Troy (Jr., RHP – Hattiesburg, Miss.)
RP Grant Wood, South Alabama (RS Jr., RHP – Georgetown, Texas)
C Caden Bodine, Coastal Carolina (So., C – Haddon Heights, N.J.)
1B Will Butcher, Troy (Sr., 1B – Arden, N.C.)
2B Ethan Kavanagh, Troy (Sr., 2B – Cincinnati, Ohio)
SS Ozzie Pratt, Southern Miss (Jr., SS – Oxford, Miss.)
3B Will Mize, Georgia State (Sr., 3B – Snellville, Ga.)
OF Luke Waters, Old Dominion (Jr., OF – Laurel, Del.)
OF Dalton McIntyre, Southern Miss (Jr., OF – Jackson, Tenn.)
OF Kole Myers, Troy (Sr., OF – Lafayette, La.)
DH Kyle Mock, Troy (Sr., DH – Orlando, Fla.)
UT Josh Tate, Georgia Southern (So., UT – Peachtree City, Ga.)