Wofford's Galanie wins SoCon Player Of The Year

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Southern Conference announced today its baseball all-conference teams, led by Wofford’s Ryan Galanie as the SoCon Player of the Year. Lucas Mahlstedt joins him as a first-team selection, and four others earn second-team honors alongside three with all-freshman recognition.

“Seeing nine of our players recognized by the league gives our program a great sense of pride,” said head coach Todd Interdonato. “Putting together another incredible regular season of 37 wins would not have been possible without the individual performances from these players. Their work ethic along with their commitment to the program and their teammates is something special and unique to Wofford Baseball. All of these recognitions are well deserved, and it is always enjoyable to see the players celebrate with their teammates and families.”

Ryan Galanie is the program’s third-ever player of the year, all consecutive. He joins Colin Davis (2021) and Lawson Hill (2022) as Terriers to garner SoCon Player of the Year, and Galanie joins Davis as a consensus pick. Wofford is the first SoCon program to produce three-straight players of the year in at least one poll since Mercer did so from 2015-17.

“This recognition for Ryan also marks the third-straight season a Wofford player has been named the SoCon Player of the Year, which speaks volumes to the caliber of coach we have in J.J. Edwards,” said Interdonato. “Our offense has been consistently one of the best in the nation over the past five seasons under his tutelage, and J.J. needs to be recognized for this as well. His commitment to developing our hitters is something that can only be appreciated if you see it on a daily basis. There is no doubt J.J. is one of the best hitting coaches in the country, and our guys would be the first to tell you how fortunate they are to have him.”

Galanie and pitcher Lucas Mahlstedt were Wofford’s two consensus First-Team All-SoCon selections. Cameron Gill and Dixon Black were consensus second-team picks, with two others splitting the polls. Matthew Marchal was honored by the league’s coaches, and Coulson Buchanan was recognized in the media poll. Three freshmen pitchers were honored on the SoCon All-Freshman Team: Zac Cowan, Branton Little and Charlie Weber. Wofford’s three all-freshman honorees tie its program mark for most in a season, set last season, and they are the most of any SoCon squad this season, besting three others programs with two each.

Galanie has produced one of the best seasons in program history, hitting .408 to pace the conference and rank 16^th nationally. He leads the league in RBI with 64 and is only five home runs shy of the SoCon Triple Crown with 16 to his name this season. Even so, the first baseman tops the conference in hits (86), runs (70), total bases (149) and on-base percentage (.510) while ranking second in slugging (.706). His hits are 20^th in the country, and they are three shy of matching Wofford’s single-season record of 89. This is Galanie’s second consecutive first-team recognition, and it caps a season that has been full of accolades for the senior. He has twice been named SoCon Player of the Week and earned a SoCon Student-Athlete of the Week nod as well, and he won the first two SoCon Player of the Month honors this season. The native of Mason, Ohio recently became just the second player in program history to be named a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy.

“The season Ryan has put together from opening day through the end of the regular season is the most impressive offensive season we have seen since Brandon (Waring) in 2007,” said Interdonato of Galanie. “He has been the leader of our offense throughout the year, and his consistency of performance against any and all opponents has been remarkable. As a person and teammate going through this year he has handled success as well as any player we’ve had in our program, which is a testament to his character and professionalism.

“Ryan has done this the right way, the Wofford way. He came into this program four years ago as a player who needed to put in a tireless amount of work to become an everyday player, which didn’t happen until his junior season. He was a great teammate, believed in his journey and has earned every bit of success that has come his way. Ryan will serve as another example for future players who will come through Wofford Baseball. Showing them to believe in the individual development of our players, which has been the foundation of our program’s success. This award could not have gone to a better player or a person of higher character.”

Lucas Mahlstedt earns his first SoCon yearly recognition as a consensus first-teamer. The right-handed reliever leads the conference with an ERA of 2.69. He owns a 5-2 record with 62 strikeouts over 77.0 innings pitched. Those 77.0 innings are the most of any pitcher in relief this season across Division I. The sophomore has locked down six saves, third in the conference. He leads the league in both WHIP (1.03) and walks allowed per nine innings (1.75), which rank 16^th and 31^st in the country, respectively. Mahlstedt also boasts a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.13, second in the conference to only his teammate, Matthew Marchal. The native of Ormond Beach, Florida earned SoCon Student-Athlete of the Week honors in early April and capped the month as the SoCon Pitcher of the Month. He is the first pitcher in program history to be named a semifinalist for College Baseball Foundation’s National Pitcher of the Year Award.

Senior catcher Cameron Gill is one of two consensus All-SoCon Second-Team selections for Wofford. Gill touts an on-base percentage of .503, second in the conference behind only Galanie. His batting average of .381 is fifth in the league. Gill has driven in 35 runs and scored 48 this season. A native of Alpharetta, Georgia, Gill owns 59 hits, two of which were home runs. A stout defender, Gill has committed just two errors all season for a .995 fielding clip behind the plate. He has also been steady on the basepaths, swiping 15 bags in 18 attempts.

Junior third baseman Dixon Black joins Gill as a consensus second-team honoree in his first season with Wofford. Black is hitting .318 on the campaign with a .404 on-base mark and .493 slugging clip. He has started all 54 games at third base this season, boasting 69 hits with 46 RBI and 51 runs scored. A native of Scranton, Pennsylvania, he has clubbed seven homers and 13 doubles. Black touts nine steals, just shy of double-digits.

Senior hurler Matthew Marchal was named to the second team by the league’s coaches. He was a first-team pick last season and entered 2023 as the Preseason Pitcher of the Year, and he delivered a 10-3 record with a 5.13 ERA in 79.0 innings of work. Marchal started 17 of his 18 appearances, with those 17 starts tying for most in the nation. His lone relief outing saw him notch a save at Georgia Tech. The Greenville, South Carolina native has struck out 75 batters and issued just 18 walks for a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.17, best in the conference. His 10 wins also top the league and are just two shy of the national lead.

Sophomore pitcher Coulson Buchanan was honored on the second team by the media. He earns his first All-SoCon honor after All-Freshman Team recognition last season. Buchanan is 5-4 on the season with a 4.94 ERA in 85.2 innings. He owns 88 punchouts over 17 starts in 18 appearances. Buchanan’s 17 starts tie with three others for most in the country, including the aforementioned Marchal. His 88 strikeouts are third-most in the SoCon. With 23 walks on the season, the Sugar Hill, Georgia native boasts a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.83, third best in the conference to give Wofford each of the league’s top three in that category.

Zac Cowan has pitched in 14 games with one start, owning a 3-3 record with a 5.79 ERA. Named to the all-freshman team by the league’s coaches, Cowan has struck out 51 batters in 42.0 innings of work, and he has claimed a pair of saves. The native of Blythewood, South Carolina has issued only two walks on the season.

Branton Little joins Cowan on the all-freshman squad after going 3-0 on the season with a 4.67 ERA over 10 appearances. In 17.1 innings, Little struck out 16 hitters and walked just five. His first win came in his collegiate debut against Southern Illinois. The Mount Pleasant, South Carolina native delivered his best outing against Cincinnati with 3.1 innings and five strikeouts with no earned runs for the win.

Charlie Weber rounds out Wofford’s all-freshman honorees. Weber has started all 14 of his appearances, tossing 50.0 innings with a 5.94 ERA and 3-1 record. He holds opposing batters to a .279 average and touts 46 strikeouts to just seven free passes. A native of St. Louis, Missouri, the young right-hander has finished the season strong with wins in three of his last five starts.

Wofford finishes the regular season at 37-17 overall and 12-9 in SoCon play. The Terriers finished third in the league and enter this week’s Southern Conference Baseball Championship presented by Holsten Gases as the No. 3 seed. This grants Wofford a one-day bye into the double-elimination portion of the tournament, where Wofford plays its first game on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. The Terriers await the winner of Wednesday’s play-in game between No. 6 UNCG and No. 7 Western Carolina. The SoCon Tournament takes place in Greenville, South Carolina at Fluor Field, home of the Greenville Drive.

Coaches All-Southern Conference Teams

Player of the Year

Ryan Galanie, Sr., 1B, Wofford

Pitcher of the Year

Jacob Cravey, Jr., RHP, Samford

Freshman of the Year

Lucas Steele, OF, Samford

Coach of the Year

Tony David, Samford

First team

SP – Nathanial Tate, Sr., ETSU

SP – Jacob Cravey, Jr., Samford

RP – Lucas Mahlstedt, So., Wofford

C – Cole Garrett, Jr., VMI

1B – Ryan Galanie, Sr., Wofford

2B – Jayden Davis, Fr., Samford

SS – Pascanel Ferreras, Jr., Western Carolina

3B – Justin Starke, R-Jr., VMI

OF – Treyson Hughes, So., Mercer

OF – Kennedy Jones, So., UNCG

OF – Cole Jenkins, Jr., VMI

DH – Eric Toth, Gr., Mercer

Second team

SP – Cameron Reeves, Sr., The Citadel

SP – Matthew Marchal, Sr., Wofford

RP – Ben Petschke, Jr., Samford

C – Cameron Gill, Sr., Wofford

1B – Cameron Sisneros, Jr., ETSU

2B – Ty Swaim, Jr., VMI

SS – Zac Morris, R-Jr., VMI

3B – Dixon Black, Jr., Wofford

OF – Nick Iannantone, Jr., ETSU

OF – Jozsef Rohrbacher, Sr., Mercer

OF – Trey Morgan, R-Jr., VMI

DH – John Anderson, Jr., Samford

All-Freshman Team

Will Holmes, The Citadel

Cody Miller, ETSU

Ty Dalley, Mercer

Julien Peissel, UNCG

Luke Thomas, UNCG

Jayden Davis, Samford

Lucas Steele, Samford

Grayson Fitzwater, VMI

Jimmy Koza, VMI

Ryan White, Western Carolina

Zac Cowan, Wofford

Branton Little, Wofford

Charlie Weber, Wofford

SCSMA All-Southern Conference Teams