Six Saints Named All Conference

Six Seward County Saints were honored by the conference this weekend as members of the All-Jayhawk West team. Catcher Brent Williams took home top honors as he was named a 1st Team selection as well as the Jayhawk West Freshman of the Year. Fellow freshmen Kevin Connolly and JB Olson were named 1st Team members as well. A trio of Seward sophomores earned 2nd Team All-Conference honors including lefty Austin King, outfielder Bryson Allen, and utility man Reed Thompson.

Williams was runner-up for the Jayhawk West Most Valuable Player award during his freshman season and was the league’s unanimous selection as its Freshman of the Year. The Saints backstop was 1st Team All-Conference at catcher during his rookie year after transferring to Seward from Oklahoma State where he redshirted last season. Williams led the Saints in nearly every offensive category this season in a record breaking season for the guys in green. He hit .415 with 7 home runs and 69 RBI’s and set an NJCAA Division I National record with 37 doubles this season. Williams’ 37 doubles were 13 more than any other player in the Division I ranks this year. Williams Freshman of the Year award marks the second straight season that a Saint has won the award after teammate Bryson Allen captured the honors in 2013.

Connolly was a 1st Team selection in the outfield during his redshirt freshman season with the Saints. The Notre Dame transfer was second on the team behind Williams in batting average, doubles, and RBI’s this season. Connolly hit .411 with 18 doubles, a team best 9 triples, 3 home runs, and 52 RBI’s and also led the team with 11 stolen bases. He finished the season on a nine game hit streak and also had an eight game hit streak earlier in the season in which he compiled 22 hits during. Connolly will head back home to Creighton University next season to play as a sophomore.

Olson was the runner-up for the Jayhawk West Pitcher of the Year and was a 1st Team All-Jayhawk West pick by the coaches. Olson had an electric freshman season for the Saints, posting a 7-3 record with a 2.02 ERA while striking out 78 in 84 2/3 innings pitched, all of which led the team. Olson’s 2.02 ERA led the Jayhawk Conference and was the 3rd best in a single season in school history. Olson went at least 5 innings in every one of his starts this season and went 6 or more innings in 9 of his 11 starts. He was 6-1 with 5 complete games during conference play, striking out 47 and walking just 4 opposing hitters in 53 innings of work.

King was a 2nd Team All-Conference pick during his sophomore year, going 7-3 with a 4.32 ERA while posting an incredible 76 to 4 strikeout to walk ratio in 77 innings pitched on the mound. King struck out 45 opposing hitters and threw 43 2/3 innings before walking his first batter of the season in 2014, both numbers which are thought to be college baseball records. A workhorse on the mound, King went 5 2/3 or more innings in 11 of his 12 starts this season, including 4 complete games.

The 2013 Jayhawk West Freshman of the Year Allen was a 2nd Team All-Conference pick as a sophomore after missing 10 games midway through the conference season after a freak ankle injury during practice. Allen still managed to put up one heck of a year for the Saints, hitting .384 with 16 doubles, 5 triples, and 6 home runs, while driving in 44 runs. He ranked in the top three on the Saints team this season in batting average, hits, runs, doubles, triples, home runs, while leading the team in walks with 29 and on base percentage at .469.

Thompson got a 2nd Team nod at designated hitter for Seward this season while splitting 55 games between the outfield, 1st base, and the designated hitter positions. Thompson had a nice sophomore season, hitting .341 with 16 doubles, 2 triples, and 30 RBI’s while moving all around the Seward batting order including finishing the year in the leadoff spot. Thompson hit in the Saints final six games of the season and put together a season long 10 game hit streak midway through the conference season.

The six All-Conference selections for the Saints were most since 2011 when they had seven en route to a Juco World Series appearance.

Roy Allen