Lewis captures SBC Player, Newcomer of the Year
Published 3:25 pm Monday, May 22, 2023
- Troy’s Shane Lewis is both the SBC Player and Newcomer of the Year. (Photo courtesy of Troy University Athletics)
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On Monday, the Sun Belt Conference announced its annual baseball awards and Troy sophomore Shane Lewis captured both the Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year.
Lewis was selected as a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy last week just before breaking Troy’s single season home run record. The Vicksburg, Miss., sophomore is ranked second in the country with 27 home runs this season and also boasts 78 RBIs and a .794 slugging percentage, 63 runs and a .461 on-base percentage.
Lewis is the first Trojan to win SBC Player of the Year since Joey Denison captured the award in 2018 and he’s the first Newcomer of the Year since Andrew Cane won the award in 2017. He’s also the first Troy player in school history to win both Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year in the same season.
“What else can possibly be stated about the storybook year he has put together,” Troy Coach Skylar Meade said. “There is zero doubt that he earned being the 2023 Sun Belt player and Newcomer of the year. He is an amazing teammate, a true superstar, and one of the most talented players in college baseball.”
Lewis is also joined by three Trojan teammates on the All-Sun Belt team. Joining Lewis as First-Team All-Sun Belt is sophomore pitcher Grayson Stewart and senior third baseman Caleb Bartolero. Junior pitcher Noah Manning also landed on the Second-Team, as well.
Stewart boast a 9-2 record on the mound this season with a 3.20 ERA and 86 strikeouts on the season. Bartolero boasts a .300 batting average with 14 home runs, 53 RBIs and 48 runs. On defense, he has a .958 fielding percentage with 201 put outs, 93 assists and eight double plays. Manning boast a 3.59 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 42 and 2/3 innings pitched this season.
“First and foremost, I could not be prouder of every single player on our team for their efforts through the first 56 games,” Meade said. “They all know we have a lot of work left to go. We strive to have players receive individual recognition from our league, and our four players who have won awards this year are incredibly deserving.”
The Trojans will play Appalachian State in the first round of the Sun Belt Tournament in Montgomery on Wednesday morning at 9 a.m.