Troy first baseman earns first-team All-Sun Belt baseball honors

Troy first baseman Blake Cavill was named to the All-Sun Belt Conference baseball first-team on Monday.

Cavill, a transfer from Western Kentucky, leads the nation in walks (64) and ranks 12th in the country in on-base percentage (.523) while reaching base at least once in all 54 games this season. The Sydney, Australia, native carries a .326/.523/.586 batting line with 12 doubles, 11 home runs and 49 RBIs in this week’s Sun Belt tournament.

Troy also placed two players — catcher Brooks Bryan and pitcher Garrett Gainous on the All-Sun Belt second team. Bryan is batting .284 with 18 doubles, 12 home runs and 59 RBIs this season, while Gaines is 6-1 with a 3.83 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 51.2 innings pitched.

South Alabama had one player on the second team, pitcher Mitchell Heer. The senior right-hander went 7-2 with a 3.53 ERA in 66.1 innings for the Jaguars this season.

Southern Miss second baseman Nick Monistere was named Sun Belt Player of the Year, while Coastal Carolina’s Jacob Morrison was chosen as Pitcher of the Year. Other individual award winners were Georgia State second baseman Kaleb Freeman (Newcomer of the Year), Appalachian State shortstop Tyler Lichtenberger (Freshman of the Year), Southern Miss outfielder Carson Paetow (Tony Robichaux Leadership Award) and Coastal Carolina’s Kevin Schnall (Ron Maestri Coach of the Year).

Troy is the No. 3 seed for the Sun Belt tournament, which runs Tuesday-Sunday at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery. The Trojans (37-19) open tournament play vs. No. 6 Old Dominion at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Here are the complete 2025 Sun Belt baseball individual awards and all-conference teams:

Player of the Year

Nick Monistere, 2B, Southern Miss

Pitcher of the Year

Jacob Morrison, RHP, Coastal Carolina

Newcomer of the Year

Kaleb Freeman, 2B, Georgia State

Freshman of the Year

Tyler Lichtenberger, SS, App State

Tony Robichaux Leadership Award

Carson Paetow, OF Southern Miss

Ron Maestri Coach of the Year

Kevin Schnall, Coastal Carolina

All-Sun Belt first team

SP — Cameron Flukey, Coastal Carolina

SP — Jacob Morrison, Coastal Carolina

SP — JB Middleton, Southern Miss

RP — Colby Allen, Southern Miss

C — Caden Bodine, Coastal Carolina

1B — Blake Cavill, Troy

2B — Nick Monistere, Southern Miss

SS — Tyler Lichtenberger, Appalachian State

3B — Jesse Donohoe, Georgia State

OF — Josh Tate, Georgia Southern

OF — Conor Higgs, Louisiana

OF — Carson Paetow, Southern Miss

DH — Kameron Miller, Appalachian State

UT — Austin Eaton, Texas State

All-Sun Belt second team

SP — Griffin Miller, Marshall

SP — Mitchell Heer, South Alabama

SP — Garrett Gainous, Troy

RP — Dominick Carbone, Coastal Carolina

C — Brooks Bryan, Troy

1B — Matthew Russo, Southern Miss

2B — Kaleb Freeman, Georgia State

SS — Ozzie Pratt, Southern Miss

3B — Chase Mora, Texas State

OF — Sean Smith, Georgia Southern

OF — Isaiah Walker, Louisiana-Monroe

OF — Jake Cook, Southern Miss

DH — Caleb Stelly, Louisiana

UT — Tyler Figueroa, Appalachian State