vmi baseball all-socon 2026

Baseball

Four Keydets receive postseason All-Southern Conference honors

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – After a great season in the field, at the plate, or on the mound, four VMI baseball players were recognized by the league coaches and received postseason All-Southern Conference awards for their efforts during the course of the 2026 season.
 
For a second straight year, senior Grayson Fitzwater was named First Team All-Southern Conference. Junior catcher Cole Raile achieved Second Team All-SoCon recognition while rookie pitcher Buddy Baker was named to the All-Freshman Team. Senior outfielder Owen Prince was named to the SoCon All-Defensive Team and Fitzwater was also recognized for his glove on the All-Defensive unit.
 
"We're proud of the recognition our players received," said VMI Head Baseball Coach Sam Roberts. "These honors are a reflection of the work and consistency our guys showed throughout the season. Our program takes a lot of pride in player development and in the way our team competes every day, and it's great to see that recognized with these postseason awards."


 
Grayson Fitzwater – Senior – Suffolk, Va.
First Team All-Southern Conference (1B)
SoCon All-Defensive Team (1B)
  • SoCon Preseason POTY (by Southern Conference and D1Baseball) and 12th-ranked first baseman in Division I
  • Holds the career records for home runs (62), total bases, RBIs (221), and walks (144), and is near the record for slugging percentage (.634)
  • Single-season record for home runs (21) and walks (49)
  • 2x SoCon Player of the Week (back-to-back in March)
  • Week 12 second-best first baseman among Mid-Major programs and the eighth-best first baseman among all Division I (by D1Baseball)
  • 436 putouts on the season, including 27 double plays
  • Season-high 13 putouts on three different occasions in 2026
  • Third All-SoCon award (First Team in 2025, All-Freshman in 2023)
 
Cole Raile – Junior – Radnor, Ohio
Second Team All-Southern Conference (Catcher)
  • Sixth-most career home runs (37) in program history
  • Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Watchlist
  • First SoCon postseason award
  • Week 12 Top 10 Mid-Major catcher and top 30 Division I catcher (D1Baseball)
  • Starting catcher all 54 games
  • In 198 at-bats, logged 54 runs and 69 hits
  • 60 RBI for the season
  • 16 home runs on the year, 12 doubles, two triples
  • Walked 22 times and 12 HBPs
  • .348 batting average
  • 344 putouts on the season
 
Owen Prince – Senior – Roanoke, Va.
SoCon All-Defensive Team
  • SoCon Preseason Second Team
  • All-time stolen base leader (103), including 29 this season
  • Had an on-base streak of 43 games this season, matching the VMI single-season record
  • Second Team All-SoCon in 2025
  • 143 putouts for the season
  • Zero errors in 2026
  • Starting center fielder all 54 games
  • Logged 62 runs and 62 hits for the season and recorded 22 RBI
  • Seven doubles and three triples on the year
  • Walked 38 times
 
Buddy Baker
SoCon All-Freshman Team
  • Pitched 36.1 innings as a true freshman
  • 34 strikeouts
  • Allowed 35 hits, 19 earned runs
  • Faced 162 batters, threw 560 pitches for the season
  • Earned five wins on the year
  • Credited with two saves
  • Finished season with a 4.71 ERA
 
 
2026 All-SoCon Baseball Team & Awards
 
Player of the Year
Chris Katz, Sr., OF, Mercer
 
Pitcher of the Year
Alec Bouchard, Jr., RHP, Wofford
 
Freshman of the Year
Garrett Lambert, R-Fr., RHP, Mercer
 
Golden Glove Award (Defensive Player of the Year)
Aryan Patel, Sr., 3B, The Citadel
 
Coach of the Year
Craig Gibson, Mercer
 
First-Team All-SoCon
SP – Alec Bouchard, Wofford
SP – Garrett Lambert, Mercer
SP – Will Holmes, The Citadel
RP – Mason Snyder, Western Carolina
RP – Jess Ackerman, Mercer
RP – Zak Spurrier, Samford
C – Cade Carr, Samford
1B – Grayson Fitzwater, VMI
1B – Tristan Curless, ETSU
2B – Trent Turner, Western Carolina
SS – Titan Kamaka, Mercer
3B – Brant Baughcum, Mercer
OF – Chris Katz, Mercer
OF – Eli Stephens, Mercer
OF – Jake Souders, Samford
DH – Braydon Kersey, Mercer
 
Second-Team All-SoCon
SP – Michael Harpster, ETSU
SP – Andrew Buffkin, The Citadel
SP – Cullen Condon, Wofford
RP – Michael Gibson, The Citadel
RP – Andrew Garnett, Mercer
RP – Zane Davis, The Citadel
C – Cole Raile, VMI
C – Noah Quarless, Western Carolina
1B – Michael Gibson, The Citadel
2B – Ian Guanzon, ETSU
SS – Henry Ferguson, ETSU
3B – Jacob Budzik, UNC Greensboro
OF – Ben Timblin, Wofford
OF – Jamie Palmese, ETSU
OF – Luke Boykin, Samford
DH – Nate Conner, ETSU
 
2026 SoCon All-Freshman Team
Garrett Lambert, P, Mercer
Jaylen Jones, OF, Western Carolina
Brady Gold, SS, Wofford
Jayden Williams, OF, The Citadel
Evan Myers, P, Western Carolina
Eddie Marshall, C, Samford
Cooper Jones, P, ETSU
Tanner Berry, C, UNC Greensboro
Mason Ault, C, ETSU
Ethan Buffone, 2B, Mercer
Ayden West, P, UNC Greensboro
Buddy Baker, P, VMI
 
2026 SoCon All-Defensive Team
Aryan Patel, 3B, The Citadel
Grayson Fitzwater, 1B, VMI
Owen Prince, OF, VMI
Henry Ferguson, 2B, ETSU
Jayden Williams, OF, The Citadel
Parker McDonald, 3B, Samford
Jamie Palmese, OF, ETSU
Cade Carr, C, Samford
Jeff Ince, 2B, Samford
Niko Brini, OF, Wofford
Trent Turner, 2B, Western Carolina        
Gus Gandy, SS, Samford










 
 
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Players Mentioned

Grayson Fitzwater

#20 Grayson Fitzwater

1B
6' 1"
Senior
L/L
Owen Prince

#2 Owen Prince

UT
5' 9"
Senior
L/R
Cole Raile

#19 Cole Raile

C/DH
6' 0"
Junior
R/R
Buddy Baker

#37 Buddy Baker

LHP
5' 11"
Freshman
L/L

Players Mentioned

Grayson Fitzwater

#20 Grayson Fitzwater

6' 1"
Senior
L/L
1B
Owen Prince

#2 Owen Prince

5' 9"
Senior
L/R
UT
Cole Raile

#19 Cole Raile

6' 0"
Junior
R/R
C/DH
Buddy Baker

#37 Buddy Baker

5' 11"
Freshman
L/L
LHP