FRISCO, Texas – McNeese Cowboy baseball placed four players on the 2026 All-Southland Conference Baseball Team, the league announced Wednesday. Senior pitcher Eric Nachtsheim and senior outfielder Danny Barbero earned First Team All-Southland honors, while left fielder Isaiah Keller and catcher Connor Walker were named to the All-Defensive Team.

Nachtsheim, a senior from Reno, Nevada, headlined the Cowboys' honorees after being named the Southland Conference Relief Pitcher of the Year while also collecting First Team All-Southland recognition. He becomes just the third Cowboy in program history to earn the conference's top relief pitching honor.

One of the nation's top arms throughout the season, Nachtsheim enters postseason play ranked second in the NCAA in strikeouts with 116. He has compiled a 6-3 record with a 3.58 ERA across 17 appearances, including seven starts, while tossing 73 innings. He has also recorded one complete game and three saves on the year while holding opposing hitters to a .219 batting average and posting a 1.11 WHIP.

Nachtsheim's 116 strikeouts are currently tied for the second-most in a single season in program history alongside Terry Burrows and sit just five shy of matching Will Dion's school record of 121. He has issued only 20 walks all season while consistently serving as one of the Cowboys' most dominant pitchers.

Barbero, a senior right fielder from Albany, New York, earned First Team All-Southland honors after leading the Cowboys offensively throughout the season. A Southland Conference Hitter of the Week selection during the year, Barbero enters postseason play batting .313 with a .575 slugging percentage and a .444 on-base percentage.

He leads McNeese with 11 home runs while adding 12 doubles, one triple, and 48 RBIs on 56 hits this season, emerging as one of the conference's top power bats.

Defensively, McNeese placed two players on the Southland Conference All-Defensive Team in Keller and Walker.

Keller, a graduate student left fielder from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, earned all-defensive honors after posting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage on the season. He totaled 40 putouts and three assists without committing an error while also turning one double play.

Walker, a true freshman catcher from Moss Bluff, Louisiana, was also named to the All-Defensive Team after putting together an impressive debut season behind the plate. He finished the regular season with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage while tallying 232 putouts and 27 assists without an error across 31 appearances.

Walker also threw out 16 runners attempting to steal and turned one double play while helping anchor the Cowboys defensively throughout the season.
 
2026 SLC Superlatives
 
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Armani Raygoza, UTRGV
HITTER OF THE YEAR: Peyton Woods, Southeastern
PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Chris Olivier, Lamar
RELIEF PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Eric Nachtsheim, McNeese
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: Travis Lutz, Lamar
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Brody Trosclair, Northwestern State
COACH OF THE YEAR: Bobby Barbier, Southeastern
 
First Team All-Conference
C            Jhett Creel, SFA
1B          Armani Raygoza, UTRGV
2B          Cade Sanchez, A&M-Corpus Christi
SS          A.J. Taylor, Lamar
3B          Alex Perry, Southeastern
OF          Danny Barbero, McNeese
OF          Rocco Garza Gongora, UTRGV
OF          Peyton Woods, Southeastern
UT          Julian Swift, SFA
DH         Julius Ramirez, UTRGV
SP          Chris Olivier, Lamar
SP          Dylan Marionneaux, Northwestern State
SP          Brody Trosclair, Northwestern State
RP          Eric Nachtsheim, McNeese
 
Second Team All-Conference
C            Logan Terry, Nicholls
1B          Thomas Marsala III, Northwestern State
2B          Ben Robichaux, Southeastern
SS          Cole Tabor, UIW
3B          Easton Moomau, UTRGV
OF          Preston Newberry, UIW
OF          Tab Tracy, Lamar
OF          Brooks Leonard, Northwestern State
UT          Tony DeJesus, UIW
DH         Nico Rijo-Berger, Nicholls
SP          Travis Lutz, Lamar
SP          Nik Toups, Southeastern
SP          Blake Lobell, Southeastern
RP          Kike Cienfuegos, UTRGV
 
All-Defensive Team
C            Connor Walker, McNeese
1B          Brody Capps, Southeastern
2B          Cade Sanchez, A&M-Corpus Christi
SS          A.J. Taylor, Lamar
3B          Alex Perry, Southeastern
LF           Isaiah Keller, McNeese
CF          Rocco Garza Gongora, UTRGV
RF          Hank Warren, UTRGV
P             Dylan Marionneaux, Northwestern State