By Matt Present. NEW ORLEANS, La. — App State senior outfielder Banks Tolley has been named the Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year, while Tolley and infielder Austin St. Laurent have earned first-team all-conference honors, the league announced Monday.
Tolley has enjoyed one of the most impressive seasons of any player in college baseball in 2024. Entering the Sun Belt tournament, Tolley is one of just six players nationally to boast at least 25 home runs with a batting average of at least .385, along with Georgia’s Charlie Condon, Florida’s Jac Caglianone, Oregon State’s Travis Bazzana, Tennessee’s Christian Moore and Austin Peay’s Lyle Miller-Green.
Tolley finished the regular season as the Sun Belt leader in home runs (25), slugging (.798), OPS (1.288) and batting average (.385) while ranking among the league leaders in RBIs (71 – 2nd), total bases (166 – 2nd), runs scored (66 – 4th), on-base (.490 – 4th) and hits (80 – T-5th). Tolley set the App State single-season home run record this season and became the second player in program history to enjoy a three-homer game, including blasting a walk-off against Georgia Southern on May 16.
The Madison, Miss., native who transferred from Ole Miss prior to this season finished the regular season with 25 multi-hit games and five multi-home run games, registering hits in 43 of 51 outings on the year, highlighted by an 11-game hitting streak. Eighteen of his 25 home runs came in conference play where he posted marks of .875 slugging and 1.358 OPS against Sun Belt foes.
Tolley also stole six bases and committed just three errors defensively, while starting every game in center field. He was ranked as the No. 14 outfielder in the nation in D1Baseball’s Week 12 positional rankings.
He is the first player in program history to earn Newcomer of the Year honors.
St. Laurent showcased his ability to hit to all fields in a career year at the plate. He ranked among league leaders in triples (4 – T-1st), hits (85 – 2nd), runs scored (74 – 3rd), batting average (.371 – T-6th), OPS (1.061 – 10th) and RBIs (57 – 10th), while splitting time between third base (33 games) and shortstop (18 games). He also paced the conference in hits and runs scored during league play.
The redshirt junior from Elon, N.C., started every game for the Mountaineers, hitting safely in 41 of 51 games including 28 of his final 31 contests. St. Laurent tallied 28 multi-hit efforts, led by a career-high five hits against Coastal Carolina on March 24, helping the Mountaineers take two of three from the No. 13 Chanticleers.
St. Laurent’s 14 home runs on the season ranked tied for 11th in the conference and more than doubled his home run production (6) from his first two years combined. He compiled an 11-game hitting streak midway through the season and reached base safely in each of his final 17 regular-season games. St. Laurent was ranked as the 28th-best third baseman in the nation in D1Baseball’s Week 12 positional rankings.
The duo led App State to 31 wins this season, marking the most victories since joining the Sun Belt Conference and most overall since the record-setting 2012 squad won 41 games.
The sixth-seeded Mountaineers have earned a bye into the double-elimination portion of the 2024 Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship presented by Troy University, where they will open play on Wednesday against third-seeded Troy at 10 a.m. ET in Montgomery, Ala.
2024 Sun Belt Postseason Honors
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 Hermann, 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.)
