LAKE CHARLES - Ten McNeese Cowboys were honored with 17 Southland Conference postseason awards on Tuesday morning, highlighted by the selection of Payton Harden as SLC Player of the Year, Grant Rogers as SLC Pitcher of the Year, Cameron Foster as Relief Pitcher of the Year, and head coach Justin Hill as the SLC Clay Gould Coach of the Year. It is the first time in conference history a school has taken home all four awards. 

In addition to McNeese's four major award winners, Josh Leslie garnered All-Southland Conference First Team honors joining teammates Payton Harden, Cameron Foster, and Grant Rogers. 

Reid Bourque, Brad Burckel, Braden Duhon, and Kade Morris were each named to the All-Southland Conference Second Team, while Kade Hunter earned third team honors. Bourque, Burckel, Morris, and Rogers were also tabbed to the SLC All-Defensive Team.

Justin Hill, in his ninth season with the Cowboys, led McNeese to the fifth outright Southland Conference Championship in program history on the back of a 30-21 overall record and a 15-9 mark in conference play. Hill has won over thirty games in seven of his eight years (excluding the 17-game 2020 season). After starting league play 3-6, Hill inspired the Cowboys to a 12-3 mark the rest of the way. The Cowboys finished the regular season leading the Southland in nearly every statistical category on both sides of the ball including leading the league in batting average (.304) and ERA (4.40). The Pokes also ranked fifth in the nation with 122 stolen bases. Hill was named SLC Coach of the Year in 2017 as well. 

Payton Harden, OF, #1, a junior from Atascocita, TX., led the entire Southland Conference in batting average (.371) and hits (73). In addition, Harden ranked sixth in OBP (0.436), sixth in runs scored (43), ninth in RBI (38), second in triples (4), and third in stolen bases (22). Harden also hit a career-high two home runs while slugging to a mark of .508%. He also posted 26 multi-hit games in 49 starts this season.

Cameron Foster, RP, #99, a senior from Houston, TX., posted the lowest ERA (1.75) and opposing batting average (.148) among qualified pitchers in the SLC. Foster, a midseason NCBWA Stopper of the Year watch list selection, led the league with 11 saves, good for the fourth-most in the nation. Foster also has allowed the fewest runs (10) and hits (25) among qualified pitchers and struck out the fifth most batters in the league (64) in 51.1 innings. 

Josh Leslie, 3B, #16, a junior from Kenosha, WI., who was sidelined until conference play after having wrist surgery, made an immediate impact in his first year with the Cowboys. Overall, Leslie hit .328 with six homers and drove in 28 with an OPS of .916. Leslie hit a team-high .347 in conference play and his six homers were the third most in the SLC during conference play. Leslie had the fifth most total bases on the team (73) in just 33 games. 

Grant Rogers, SP, #40, a sophomore from Groves, TX., became the Cowboy's Friday night starter in his first year in the blue and gold. Rogers led McNeese with six wins overall, 71.0 innings pitched, and 66 strikeouts. Rogers led the league with four wins during conference play pitching to the fifth-lowest ERA in SLC play (3.86) while holding opposing hitters to a .203 average, the second-lowest among starting pitchers. Rogers, no stranger to fielding his position, had three putouts and nine assists fielding to a .923% on the mound. 

Reid Bourque SS, #11, a senior from Moss Bluff, La., finished the season with a .276 batting average after hitting .448 over the final 17 games of the season. Bourque finished with a career-high four home runs while ranking seventh in the conference with 42 runs scored, second with 37 walks, and tied for third in SLC with 22 stolen bases. Bourque had the fourth-highest on-base percentage during conference play at 0.466%. A skilled defender on the left side of the infield, he was part of 22 of the Poke's 30 double plays turned in the regular season and logged a fielding percentage of .950

Brad Burckel, 2B, #4, a junior from Lindale, TX., made a tremendous impact in his first year as a Cowboy. Burckel led the team with 108 total bases and posted a .360 batting average, good for the third-best in the league, and posted the fourth-highest hit total in the league (68). Also, among the SLC, he also finished third with 55 runs scored, fourth in OPS (1.025), tenth with 37 RBI, eighth in stolen bases (17), and finished with a co-leading team-high eight home runs. A slick defender on the right side of the infield, he was part of 19 of the Poke's 30 double plays turned in the regular season and logged a fielding percentage of .963.

Braden Duhon, OF, #0, a sophomore from Moss Bluff, La., served as the primary leadoff hitter for the top offense in the conference. Duhon finished the regular season ranked sixth in Southland with a .333 batting average, his 60 hits were the ninth most in the league, and he drove in 35 runs - fourth-most on the team. Duhon added 11 stolen bases and recorded three triples. 

Kade Morris, U, #8, a senior from Alvin, TX., ranked in the top five of nearly every McNeese offensive category, Morris hit .256 during league play and finished with a co-leading team-high eight home runs (fifth-most in SLC), he recorded 32 RBI and scored 36 runs. Morris played both corners of the infield at an extremly high-level fielding to a percentage of .993 in 281 chances. 

Kade Hunter, DH, #28, a sophomore from Comfort, TX, served as the primary DH and caught 14 games behind the plate in his first season with McNeese. Hunter hit .384 during the first 20 games of his career. He finished fourth on the team with a .305 average and a slugging percentage of .483. Hunter hit 12 doubles, five HRs, and drove in 29 runs, he ranks fifth on the team with 73 total bases. 

Player of the Year: Payton Harden, McNeese
Hitter of the Year: Pearce Howard, New Orleans
Pitcher of the Year: Grant Rogers, McNeese
Relief Pitcher of the Year: Cameron Foster, McNeese
Freshman of the Year: Zach Garcia, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Newcomer of the Year: Amani Larry, New Orleans
Clay Gould Coach of the Year: Justin Hill, McNeese
 
2022 All-Southland Conference First Team

Pos.	Name	School	Cl.	Hometown
1B	Preston Faulkner2	Southeastern	Gr.	Denham Springs, La.
2B	Amani Larry	New Orleans	So.	Bossier City, La.
3B	Josh Leslie	McNeese	R-Jr.	Kenosha, Wis.
SS	Grant Smith	UIW	Jr.	Albuquerque, N.M.
C	Bo Willis	Northwestern State	So.	Magnolia, Texas
DH	Tre Jones	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	So.	Houston, Texas
OF	Payton Harden2	McNeese	R-Jr.	Atascocita, Texas
OF	Pearce Howard2	New Orleans	Sr.	Silver Spring, Md.
OF	Brendan Ryan	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Jr.	Leawood, Kan.
SP	Johnathan Harmon	Northwestern State	So.	Hornbeck, La.
SP	Grant Rogers	McNeese	R-So.	Groves, Texas
SP	Tyler Theriot	Nicholls	Jr.	Brusly, La.
RP	Cameron Foster	McNeese	R-Sr.	Houston, Texas
U	Alec Carr	UIW	Jr.	Sugar Land, Texas

 
2022 All-Southland Conference Second Team

Pos.	Name	School	Cl.	Hometown
1B	Steven Rivera-Chijin	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Sr.	Toa Baja, Puerto Rico
2B	Brad Burckel	McNeese	R-Jr.	Lindale, Texas
3B	Roberto Gonzalez	UIW	Jr.	Houston, Texas
SS	Reid Bourque	McNeese	R-Sr.	Moss Bluff, La.
C	Bryce Grizzaffi	Southeastern	Jr.	Morgan City, La.
DH	Alec Paz	Nicholls	Gr.	Dallas, Texas
OF	Braden Duhon	McNeese	R-So.	Moss Bluff, La.
OF	Xane Washington	Nicholls	R-Jr.	Houma, La.
OF	Issac Williams	New Orleans	So.	Alexandria, La.
SP	Cal Carver2	Northwestern State	Jr.	San Antonio, Texas
SP	Zach Garcia	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Fr.	New Braunfels, Texas
SP	Will Kinzeler	Southeastern	So.	Covington, La.
RP	Andrew Reitmeyer	HBU	Sr.	Carlsbad, Calif.
U	Kade Morris	McNeese	R-Sr.	Alvin, Texas

 
2022 All-Southland Conference Third Team

Pos.	Name	School	Cl.	Hometown
1B	Edgar Alvarez	Nicholls	So.	Orlando, Fla.
2B	Daunte Stuart2	Northwestern State	So.	The Woodlands, Texas
3B	Kasten Furr2	New Orleans	So.	Ruston, La.
SS	Parker Coddou	Nicholls	So.	Thibodaux, La.
C	Miguel Useche	New Orleans	So.	Caracas, Venezuela
DH	Kade Hunter	McNeese	R-So.	Comfort, Texas
OF	Josh Caraway	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	So.	Roanoke, Texas
OF	Wilson Ehrhardt	UIW	Sr.	Katy, Texas
OF	Austin Roccaforte	HBU	Jr.	Tomball, Texas
SP	Devin Desandro	Nicholls	So.	Thibodaux, La.
SP	Michael Garza	UIW	Sr.	Corpus Christi, Texas
SP	Tyler LeBlanc	New Orleans	So.	Lafayette, La.
RP	Gage Trahan	Southeastern	Gr.	Maurice, La.
U	Jake Miller	HBU	Sr.	Round Rock, Texas

 
2022 Southland Conference All-Defensive Team

Pos.	Name	School	Cl.	Hometown
1B	Kade Morris	McNeese	R-Jr.	Alvin, Texas
2B	Brad Burckel	McNeese	R-Jr.	Lindale, Texas
3B	Shea Thomas	Southeastern	Jr.	Olympia, Wash.
SS	Reid Bourque	McNeese	R-Sr.	Moss Bluff, La.
C	Bryce Grizzaffi	Southeastern	Jr.	Morgan City, La.
LF	Jeffrey Elkins	Northwestern State	Jr.	Lafayette, La.
CF	Ridge Rogers	UIW	Sr.	Flower Mound, Texas
RF	Xane Washington	Nicholls	R-Jr.	Houma, La.
P	Grant Rogers	McNeese	R-So.	Groves, Texas

 2 Two-time all-conference selection

The No. 1 seeded McNeese Cowboys will begin the Southland Conference Tournament Thursday night against No. 8 seed UIW at 6 p.m. at Joe Miller Ballpark on ESPN+.

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