New Orleans, La. – Coastal Carolina baseball had a total of five Chanticleers earn All-Sun Belt postseason honors, the Sun Belt Conference office announced on Monday.
Headlining the conference award winners for the Chants was Jake Wright who was named the Community Coffee Newcomer of the Year and also earned a spot on the All-Sun Belt second team. Senior Zach Biermann and sophomore Parker Chaverswere both named to the All-Sun Belt first team while both Kieton Rivers and Kyle Skeels joined Wright on the second team.
Tabbed the Community Coffee Newcomer of the year and a second-team all-conference selection, Wright has made an immediate impact for the Chants this season after transferring in from Seminole State College of Florida. The redshirt sophomore leads the team in both hitting at .340 and on-base percentage at .513 on the season. He is also second on the team in walks with 39, third in slugging percentage at .571, fourth in runs scored with 42, fourth in home runs with eight and fifth in RBIs with 38 on the year.
The Chester, S.C. native leads the conference in on-base percentage on the year (.513), ranks sixth in slugging percentage (.571) and is seventh in hitting (.340). He has totaled 15 multi-hit games and nine multi-RBI games on the season, including driving in a career-high six RBIs in the win at ULM on March 17.
In Sun Belt Conference play, Wright led the league in on-base percentage (.538) and ranked second in hitting (.396). He was also tied for second in runs scored (33), third in slugging percentage (.693), fourth in RBIs (35), tied for fifth in walks (22), tied for sixth in home runs (7) and tied for seventh in total bases (70).
For the second-straight season, Biermann received first-team accolades with this season’s honors coming at first base. The senior leads the Sun Belt in RBIs with 65 runs batted in this season, which also ranks 13th nationally, and is first on the team and sixth in the Sun Belt with 12 home runs for the year. Biermann, who also ranks third in the Sun Belt and 12th nationally with seven sacrifice flies, leads the team with 113 total bases and is second with 67 base hits.
Overall this season, he is hitting .303 with 12 home runs, 10 doubles, 65 RBIs and 40 runs scored while posting a .511 slugging percentage and a .383 on-base percentage. He has totaled a team-high 17 multi-RBI games and 18 multi-hit games on the season, including driving in a career-high five RBIs at Georgia State on April 26 and at home against Appalachian State on May 18.
In Sun Belt play, Biermann hit .322 with a team-high eight home runs and 43 RBIs, which ranked second in the league. He also registered a .568 slugging percentage and a .381 on-base percentage over 28 conference games.
After posting second-team All-Sun Belt honors as a freshman last season, Chavers topped his numbers this year to earn first team accolades this year. The sophomore leads the team and ranks fourth in the Sun Belt with a .591 slugging percentage on the season, while his four triples are tied for both the conference and team lead.
This season, he is hitting .307 with 11 home runs, which ranks second on the team and seventh in the Sun Belt, four triples, nine doubles, 43 RBIs and 44 runs scored. He has posted a .426 on-base percentage and stolen 10 bases on the year despite missing six games due to an injury. He has also totaled 14 multi-hit games and 14 multi-RBI games on the season, which includes registering a career-high five base hits in the win over Wake Forest on March 5 and driving in a career-high five RBIs in the win versus Michigan State on Feb. 22.
The Chant center fielder was third on the team in conference play with a .323 batting average, while his .634 slugging percentage ranked sixth in the Sun Belt. He totaled five home runs, three triples, eight doubles, drove in 18 RBIs and scored 23 runs over 25 conference contests.
A 2019 Perfect Game/Rawlings midseason second-team All-American, Rivers earned his first all-conference accolade with second-team honors this year.
The senior outfielder is hitting a career-best .332 with nine home runs, three triples, 13 doubles, 52 RBIs and 47 runs scored. His 52 RBIs is second on the team and third in the Sun Belt overall, while his .574 slugging percentage ranks fifth in the Sun Belt this season. He has also swiped 10 stolen bases, which is tied for third on the team and has posted a .988 fielding percentage in the outfield this season.
Twice this year Rivers hit two home runs in the same game, first versus UNC Wilmington on March 27 and then again against Georgia Southern on April 20, while he has also recorded 16 multiple hit games and 14 multiple RBI games on the year.
In 27 Sun Belt Conference games this season, the fourth-year Chant hit .275 with nine extra-base hits, 19 RBIs and scored 26 runs while hitting in the middle of the Coastal lineup.
Joining both Wright and Rivers on the All-Sun Belt second team is Skeels. The Chant catcher has played in 50 games this year, starting 45 behind the plate, where he is tied for second overall in the Sun Belt by throwing out 15 would-be base stealers this season.
At the plate, Skeels is hitting .297 with a career-high eight home runs, 12 doubles, 42 RBIs and 40 runs scored. He has also posted a .525 slugging percentage and a .440 on-base percentage, which includes leading the team with 16 hit-by-pitches on the year.
The Pennsylvania native has totaled 13 multi-hit games and 11 multi-RBI games which includes hitting two home runs in the win at South Alabama on April 6 and driving in a career-high six RBIs in the home win over Wake Forest on March 6.
In league action, Skeels hit .320 with seven home runs, which was tied for sixth in the Sun Belt, drove in 22 RBIs and scored 22 runs. His .667 slugging percentage in conference play ranked fourth overall in the Sun Belt, while his .460 on-base percentage was fifth.
