NATCHITOCHES – Prior to the 2019 season, three Northwestern State baseball players were preseason all-conference selections.
 
The Demons matched that number Monday afternoon when the All-Southland Conference Baseball Teams were announced by the conference office.
 
Senior right-handed pitcher Nathan Jones was a second-team selection while junior shortstop Caleb Ricca and junior outfielder Tyler Smith were third-team honorees. The three teams were chosen by a vote of the league's coaches and sports information directors.
 
A pair of Demons – senior third baseman Sam Taylor and freshman outfielder Jeffrey Elkins – were honorable mention picks. All five Demons were honored as all-conference members for the first time in their careers.
 
Jones, a Shreveport-Loyola College Prep product, was the only Southland pitcher to toss multiple complete-game shutouts, tossing two in back-to-back starts against McNeese (April 20) and at Stephen F. Austin (April 27).
 
Jones finished the regular season 7-3 with a 2.72 ERA and a team-leading 72 strikeouts. Jones ranked second in opponents' batting average (.201), eighth in ERA and ninth in strikeouts. His seven wins were tied for third in the conference.
 
"I make no bones about it when I talk to scouts or to anyone else, I think Nathan is probably the hardest working pitcher we've had come through here," third-year head coach Bobby Barbier said. "He deserves it.  He didn't come in throwing 96 miles per hour. He's put in the work in the weight room and on the mound. He's continued to improve throughout his career. He was never satisfied with where he was or what he had accomplished as a pitcher. That's what you need – guys who will come in and take it upon themselves to make themselves better."
 
Ricca, a Dutchtown High School product who has started the past 148 games at shortstop for Northwestern State, led the Southland Conference with 24 stolen bases and paced the Demons in doubles (17) and extra-base hits (25). He ranked second on the team in RBIs (34) and third in home runs (5).
 
RIcca's 24 stolen bases rank 44^th nationally and are tied for 10th in Northwestern State single-season history.
 
"Caleb has been consistent all year long," Barbier said. "His defense has been spectacular, and when he gets on base, he scores probably 70 percent of the time."
 
Smith led Northwestern State and tied for seventh in the conference with 10 home runs. His 36 RBIs paced the Demons. He tied the school single-game record with three home runs in NSU's 10-7 win at then-No. 6/8 Arkansas on April 24. His .512 slugging percentage was second among Demons regulars.
 
Defensively, Smith tied for the team lead with three outfield assists and has recorded 13 outfield assists in the past two seasons.
 
"Tyler ended up having a great second half of the season, hitting for power for us," Barbier said. "All of those guys are very deserving."
 
Northwestern State opens Southland Conference Tournament play at 12 p.m. Wednesday when it faces No. 2 seed Central Arkansas. That game, along with all tournament games, will be available on ESPN Plus. The game also will air on 100.7 FM KZBL and the Demon Sports Network.
 
Tournament events begin Tuesday night when J.P. Lagreco looks to defend his Southland Conference Tournament Home Run Derby crown at 6:30 p.m.
 
Player of the Year: Luis Trevino, Abilene Christian
Hitter of the Year: Colton Cowser, Sam Houston State
Pitcher of the Year: Corey Gaconi, Southeastern Louisiana
Relief Pitcher of the Year: Reeves Martin, New Orleans
Freshman of the Year: Taylor Smith, UIW
Newcomer of the Year: Alex Palmer, Stephen F. Austin
Clay Gould Coach of the Year: Patrick Hallmark, Incarnate Word
 
2019 All-Southland Conference First Team

Pos.	Name	School	Cl.	Hometown
1B	Hunter Hearn	Sam Houston State	Sr.	Crosby, Texas
2B	Riley McKnight	Sam Houston State	Sr.	Spring, Texas
3B	Enrique Sanchez	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Sr.	Houston, Texas
SS	Ryan Gonzalez	UIW	Sr.	Corpus Christi, Texas
C	Luis Trevino2	Abilene Christian	R-Sr.	Mission, Texas
DH	Clayton Rasbeary	McNeese	Jr.	Rockwall, Texas
OF	Colton Cowser	Sam Houston State	Fr.	Cypress, Texas
OF	Eddy Gonzalez2	UIW	Sr.	Laredo, Texas
OF	Sean Arnold	UIW	Jr.	Bryan, Texas
SP	Corey Gaconi3	Southeastern Louisiana	Sr.	Metairie, La.
SP	Hayden Wesneski2	Sam Houston State	Jr.	Cypress, Texas
SP	Alex Palmer	Stephen F. Austin	Jr.	Arlington, Texas
RP	Reeves Martin	New Orleans	Jr.	Tampa, Fla.
U	Itchy Burts2	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Jr.	League City, Texas

 
 
2019 All-Southland Conference Second Team

Pos.	Name	School	Cl.	Hometown
1B	Ryan Flores	UIW	So.	Corpus Christi, Texas
2B	Nate Fisbeck	McNeese	Jr.	The Woodlands, Texas
3B	Antonio Valdez	UIW	Fr.	Corpus Christi, Texas
SS	JC Correa	Lamar	Jr.	Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
C	Taylor Smith	UIW	Fr.	Georgetown, Texas
DH	Lee Thomas	UIW	Jr.	Katy, Texas
OF	Clayton Harp2	Sam Houston State	Sr.	El Campo, Texas
OF	Dalon Farkas2	Abilene Christian	Sr.	Milton, Ga.
OF	Brandon Bena	Houston Baptist	Jr.	Omaha, Neb.
SP	Cody Davenport	Central Arkansas	Sr.	Fayetteville, Ark.
SP	Nathan Jones	Northwestern State	Sr.	Shreveport, La.
SP	Noah Cameron	Central Arkansas	Fr.	St. Joseph, Mo.
RP	Bernie Martinez	UIW	Sr.	Laredo, Texas
U	Jordan Cannon	Sam Houston State	Sr.	Centerville, Texas

 
2019 All-Southland Conference Third Team

Pos.	Name	School	Cl.	Hometown
1B	Kyle Schimpf	Southeastern Louisiana	Sr.	Covington, La.
2B	Logan Berlof	Lamar	Jr.	McKinney, Texas
3B	Carson Maxwell	McNeese	Sr.	Houston, Texas
SS	Caleb Ricca	Northwestern State	Jr.	Prairieville, La.
C	Erik Voller	Houston Baptist	Sr.	Mission Viejo, Calif.
DH	Gaige Howard	New Orleans	Jr.	Carlsbad, Calif.
OF	Jack Rogers	Sam Houston State	So.	Spring, Texas
OF	Tyler Smith2	Northwestern State	Jr.	Franklinton, La.
OF	Josh Ragan	Central Arkansas	Jr.	Irving, Texas
SP	Jason Blanchard	Lamar	Sr.	Kingwood, Texas
SP	Kyle Gruller	Houston Baptist	Jr.	Cypress, Texas
SP	Jacob Bedevian	Nicholls	Sr.	Houston, Texas
RP	Jared Biddy	Southeastern Louisiana	Sr.	Iowa Park, Texas
U	Jake Dickerson	McNeese	Jr.	Beaumont, Texas

 
2019 Southland Conference All-Defensive Team

Pos.	Name	School	Cl.	Hometown
1B	Tyler Smith	Central Arkansas	Sr.	Deer Park, Texas
2B	Riley McKnight	Sam Houston State	Sr.	Spring, Texas
3B	Carson Maxwell	McNeese	Sr.	Houston, Texas
SS	Cody Grosse	Southeastern Louisiana	Sr.	Plainfield, Ill.
C	Taylor Smith	UIW	Fr.	Georgetown, Texas
LF	Nick Ray	Southeastern Louisiana	R-Fr.	Jefferson, La.
CF	Josh Ragan	Central Arkansas	Jr.	Irving, Texas
RF	Sean Arnold	UIW	Jr.	Bryan, Texas
P	Dustin Lacaze	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Jr.	Lake Jackson, Texas

 
Honorable Mention: 1B: Collin Morrill, New Orleans. 2B: Brennan Breaud, Southeastern Louisiana. 3B: Robin Adames, Lamar; Sam Taylor, Northwestern State. SS: Cody Grosse, Southeastern Louisiana. C: Gavin Johnson, Sam Houston State.DH: Preston Faulkner, Southeastern Louisiana. OF: Jeffrey Elkins, Northwestern State; Avery George, Lamar, Cole Girouard, Lamar. SP: Spencer Chirpich, Abilene Christian; Mason Knopp, Southeastern Louisiana. RP: Will Dion, McNeese; Brennan Lewis, Abilene Christian; Nick Mikolajchak, Sam Houston State; Gavin Stone, Central Arkansas. U:Champ Davison, Nicholls.
 
² Two-time all-conference selection
³ Three-time all-conference selection