NEW ORLEANS – Following a vote of the conference’s 14 head coaches, Southern Miss’ Nick Monistere, Coastal Carolina’s Jacob Morrison, Georgia State’s Kaleb Freeman, App State’s Tyler Lichtenberger, Southern Miss’ Carson Paetow and Coastal Carolina’s Kevin Schnall received the Sun Belt baseball postseason accolades, which were released alongside the 2025 All-Sun Belt Teams on Monday.
Regular-season champion Coastal Carolina earned the Pitcher of the Year—Morrison—and Ron Maestri Coach of the Year—Schnall—nods, while regular-season runner-up Southern Miss took home the Player of the Year—Monistere—and Tony Robichaux Leadership Award—Paetow—honors. Georgia State’s Freeman was dubbed the Newcomer of the Year, while App State’s Lichtenberger was recognized as the Freshman of the Year.
Junior second baseman Monistere paced the Sun Belt with 18 home runs and 66 RBI, while ranking third in the conference with 140 total bases, 72 hits and a .645 slugging percentage. The Brandon, Miss., native’s .332 batting average, 52 runs scored, 133 assists and 32 fielding double plays also ranked among the Top 10 in the league. Monistere led the Golden Eagles with 21 multi-hit and 19 multi-RBI performances this season and boasted 29 clutch two-out RBIs during the regular season.
Redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher Morrison led the Sun Belt with 10 wins, a 1.95 ERA, 17 runs allowed and 17 earned runs allowed. The Flushing, Mich., product also ranked among the Top 10 in the league with a .179 opposing batting average, 81 strikeouts, 50 hits allowed, 17 walks allowed, seven doubles allowed, five home runs allowed and 78.1 innings pitched. Morrison was even more dominant in Sun Belt action, posting an 8-0 record with a .163 opposing batting average and a 1.71 ERA against conference opposition.
Senior second baseman Freeman paced the Sun Belt with a .732 slugging percentage, 153 total bases, 65 runs scored and 28 doubles, while ranking second in the conference with a .504 on-base percentage, 73 hits and 61 walks. The Flowery Branch, Ga., native also ranked among the Top 15 in the league with a .349 batting average, 46 RBI, 16 home runs and 15 stolen bases.
Freshman shortstop Lichtenberger ranked among the Top 10 in the Sun Belt with a .342 batting average, 69 hits and 138 assists. The Boca Raton, Fla., native reached base safely in each of his first 34 games played—and in 46-of-52 games played during his freshman campaign—to go along with 24 multi-hit outings on the year.
Senior outfielder Paetow ranked among the Top 10 in the conference with a .610 slugging percentage, 125 total bases, 57 RBI, 17 doubles and 15 home runs. The Vancleave, Miss., native is a two-time team captain for the Golden Eagles and a soon-to-be two-time graduate of Southern Miss with a bachelor’s in health sciences and an MBA. Paetow 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.
First-year Coastal Carolina head coach Kevin Schnall guided the Chanticleers to a 44-11 record, including a Sun Belt-leading 26-4 mark to earn the outright regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship presented by Troy University. Under his leadership, the Chanticleers closed the regular season with 14-straight overall wins, 18-straight conference wins and six-straight Sun Belt weekend series sweeps. Coastal Carolina’s 44 victories rank second in the country, trailing only Northeastern’s 45.
The Sun Belt boast three Top 45 RPI teams entering this week’s Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship presented by Troy University.
The top three RPI teams—Coastal Carolina, Southern Miss and Troy—combined to claim 14-of-28 All-Sun Belt nods. Southern Miss led all programs with seven All-Sun Belt honorees and four All-Sun Belt First Team selections. Regular-season champion Coastal Carolina ranked second in both categories with four All-Sun Belt picks overall, including three All-Sun Belt First Team recipients.
Southern Miss (7), Coastal Carolina (4), App State (3), Troy (3), Georgia Southern (2), Georgia State (2), Louisiana (2) and Texas State (2) each had multiple All-Sun Belt honorees. 11-of-14 Sun Belt programs were represented on the two All-Sun Belt teams.
Player of the Year
Nick Monistere, Southern Miss (Jr., 2B – Brandon, Miss.)
Pitcher of the Year
Jacob Morrison, Coastal Carolina (RS So., RHP – Flushing, Mich.)
Newcomer of the Year
Kaleb Freeman, Georgia State (Sr., 2B – Flowery Branch, Ga.)
Freshman of the Year
Tyler Lichtenberger, App State (Fr., SS – Boca Raton, Fla.)
Tony Robichaux Leadership Award
Carson Paetow, Southern Miss (Sr., OF – Vancleave, Miss.)
Ron Maestri Coach of the Year
Kevin Schnall, Coastal Carolina
All-Sun Belt First Team
P Cameron Flukey, Coastal Carolina (So., RHP – Egg Harbor Township, N.J.)
P Jacob Morrison, Coastal Carolina (RS So., RHP – Flushing, Mich.)
P JB Middleton, Southern Miss (Jr., RHP – Yazoo City, Miss.)
RP Colby Allen, Southern Miss (Jr., RHP – Louisville, Miss.)
C Caden Bodine, Coastal Carolina (Jr., C – Haddon Heights, N.J.)
1B Blake Cavill, Troy (Sr., 1B – Sydney, Australia)
2B Nick Monistere, Southern Miss (Jr., 2B – Brandon, Miss.)
SS Tyler Lichtenberger, App State (Fr., SS – Boca Raton, Fla.)
3B Jesse Donohoe, Georgia State (Sr., 3B – Columbus, Ga.)
OF Josh Tate, Georgia Southern (Jr., OF – Peachtree City, Ga.)
OF Conor Higgs, Louisiana (RS Sr., OF – Texas City, Texas)
OF Carson Paetow, Southern Miss (Sr., OF – Vancleave, Miss.)
DH Kameron Miller, App State (So., DH – Harrisburg, N.C.)
UT Austin Eaton, Texas State (RS Sr., UT – Frisco, Texas)
All-Sun Belt Second Team
P Griffin Miller, Marshall (So., RHP – Madison, W.Va.)
P Mitchell Heer, South Alabama (Sr., RHP – Acworth, Ga.)
P Garrett Gainous, Troy (Sr., RHP – Cairo, Ga.)
RP Dominick Carbone, Coastal Carolina (So., LHP – Rocky Point, N.Y.)
C Brooks Bryan, Troy (Jr., C – Opelika, Ala.)
1B Matthew Russo, Southern Miss (Jr., 1B – Madisonville, La.)
2B Kaleb Freeman, Georgia State (Sr., 2B – Flowery Branch, Ga.)
SS Ozzie Pratt, Southern Miss (Sr., SS – Alesville, Miss.)
3B Chase Mora, Texas State (Jr., 3B – Tomball, Texas)
OF Sean Smith, Georgia Southern (Sr., OF – Moss Point, Miss.)
OF Isaiah Walker, ULM (Sr., OF – Houston, Texas)
OF Jake Cook, Southern Miss (RS So., OF – Madison, Miss.)
DH Caleb Stelly, Louisiana (Jr., DH – Baton Rouge, La.)
UT Tyler Figueroa, App State (So., UT – Colonie, N.Y.)