By Daniel Hooker
WCU Athletics
Western Carolina landed six players on the 2024 All-Southern Conference postseason baseball teams released this afternoon by the conference office. Four seniors, a junior, and a freshman earned recognition from both the league’s eight head coaches and voting members of the SoCon Sports Media Association (SCSMA).
Senior outfielder Nate Stocum earned first-team honors on both postseason squads with classmate RHP Jonathan Todd garnering first-team plaudits from the coaches and second from the media. Senior infielder Zach Ketterman was a second-team selection on both the coaches and media teams, joined on the coaches' second team by RHP Dante Visconti and RHP Dusty Revis on the media’s second-team tabulation.
Rounding out WCU’s selections was freshman right-hander Davis Budd who landed on the coaches’ SoCon All-Freshman team.
Nate Stocum enters postseason play with WCU’s second-best batting average at .336. He has recorded a team-best 71 base hits including 35 for extra-bases with a team-leading 15 doubles and 20 home runs for a .692 slugging percentage. His single-season, career-best 20 homers – tied for the seventh-most in WCU’s season record books – rank him third in the SoCon and his 15 two-baggers ninth his slugging percentage among the top five in the conference. The Raleigh, N.C., native has four multi-homer games this season including belting three in one game against Iona in February.
Stocum enters the conference tournament riding a seven-game hitting streak, having posted a team-long 19-game run earlier this season. He leads WCU with 25 multiple-hit games and has multiple RBI a team-leading 16 times. He matched his career-high with three base hits on four occasions. Stocum’s team-leading 61 runs scored are tied for sixth in the conference.
Stocum has 40 career doubles and ranks tied for ninth in school history with his 41 career home runs, while his 151 career RBI rank just outside WCU’s all-time top 20.
Moving to the backend of the bullpen this season, Jonathan Todd has made 23 total appearances including 22 in relief. He tossed 34.0 innings in the regular season, posting a 2-1 record and a 3.44 ERA. He ranked tied for second in the league with a team-best seven saves, tied for 11th in WCU’s single-season record books. A hard-throwing right-hander from Reidsville, N.C., Todd is second on the Catamount staff with 46 strikeouts and has limited the opposition to a collective .205 batting average against this season.
Over 39 appearances over the past two seasons in Cullowhee, Todd has a 6.75 ERA with 84 strikeouts against 43 walks in 74.2 innings of work.
A two-time SoCon Player of the Week and the league’s top player in April, Zach Ketterman finished the regular season with a team-best .358 batting average (68-for-190) with 27 hits going for extra bases including a career-best 14 home runs (10th in the SoCon), 10 doubles, and three triples. His .663 slugging percentage ranks among the SoCon’s Top 10 while also ranking among the league leaders with a 1.100 OPS. The Biglerville, Pa., native also ranks among the league’s best with 124 combined assists in the field and has been part of turning 31 double plays for the SoCon’s leading team.
Ketterman is second on the Catamount squad with 23 multi-hit games and 13 multiple-RBI efforts this season. He enjoyed a season-long 11-game hitting streak and a team-high tying 19-game reached-base safely streak, entering the conference tournament having hit in six-straight games.
A four-year starter, Ketterman ranks inside the WCU career Top 20 with his 47 doubles while his 10 career triples are tied for sixth in the program ledgers. His 150 RBI rank him tied for 21st all-time.
Filling the need for starting pitching midway through the season, Dante Visconti has made 20 appearances on the mound including eight starts – seven straight to close the regular season. Over 52.0 innings of work, he has recorded a 4-1 overall record with a 5.88 ERA. Visconti has tossed four or more innings in his last seven appearances including a career-long 6.0 innings in a win over Mercer on May 11. He has posted multiple strikeouts in 12 of his appearances with five or more four times including a season-high six in the road win at Wofford on April 27.
In two seasons in Cullowhee, the St. John’s Fla., product has made 33 appearances with 11 starts, tossing 84.2 innings with a 6.27 ERA. He has struck out 78 against 47 walks while limiting opponents to a .242 batting average against.
A redshirt sophomore transfer from Marion, N.C., Dusty Revis has made 18 appearances including 16 in relief with a pair of starts. He boasts a team-best seven victories with a 7-1 record, tied for the fourth-most wins by a pitcher in the SoCon this season. He has posted a 4.50 ERA over 46.0 innings pitched, countering 19 walks with 39 strikeouts and limiting opponents to a .260 batting average. Revis earned his first win at WCU in his Catamount debut on opening weekend, pitching 2.2 scoreless, one-hit relief innings in a victory over Iona.
Revis has recorded multiple strikeouts in 10 of his appearances, posting a season-high six over a season-long 6.0 inning effort in his first WCU start against Georgia State. He collected his first save as a Catamount on May 10 with a three-inning relief effort in a home win over Mercer.
Freshman right-hander Davis Budd was recognized on the SoCon All-Freshman team, moving into the Catamount starting rotation in the midseason. Over 16 combined appearances, he’s made nine starts with a 2-2 record and an 8.78 collective ERA. In 40.0 innings, he has struck out 37 against 21 walks.
Budd made his collegiate debut with an inning of relief work at Florida State in late February. He earned his first career start in the midweek against mountain-rival UNC Asheville on March 19, tossing three innings of hitless, scoreless baseball. He scored his first college win in relief against Appalachian State, scattering three hits over four innings with three strikeouts. The Acworth, Ga., product posted a career-high five strikeouts three times this season with five at The Citadel and five against Akron in a neutral field meeting at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio. Budd pitched a career-long 6.2 innings at Wofford on April 28, limiting the Terriers to a run on just two hits with five strikeouts.
All eight Southern Conference teams had representation on the two all-conference teams released on Tuesday, with seven earning a first-team selection. UNCG led all schools with eight selections on the coaches’ all-conference team, followed by Samford with six, and ETSU with five. Wofford put a league-best four on the coaches’ All-Freshman team, followed by ETSU (3), Samford (2), and UNCG, WCU, and The Citadel each with one selection.
UNCG also put eight on the media all-conference team, followed by Samford with six, Wofford and ETSU with five, and WCU with four.
UNCG’s Caleb Cozart (coaches) and ETSU’s Cameron Sisneros (media) split the award for Player of the Year. Michael Ross of Samford was the consensus pick for SoCon Pitcher of the Year with Daniel Jackson of Wofford dubbed the Freshman of the Year. UNCG head coach Cody Ellis was selected by both the media and his peers as this year’s Coach of the Year.
Fourth-seed Western Carolina (28-24) opens play in the 2024 SoCon Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases on Thursday, May 23, at 3 p.m. against the winner of Wednesday's single-elimination game between No. 5 Wofford and No. 8 The Citadel. WCU took 2-of-3 on the road in Spartanburg against the Terriers back in late April and swept the Bulldogs in Charleston at the end of March in the second league series of the season. Priced at $15 per day, tickets for the 2024 SoCon Baseball Championship presented by Holston Gases are available in advance through the Greenville Drive's website and at the Drive ticket office at the entrances of Fluor Field. A variety of paid parking lots are available around the stadium area with FREE parking at the County Square, a 10-minute walk from the stadium. For the convenience of fans, a complimentary shuttle service runs from County Square to the Field Street Gate on game days.
Each game of the tournament will be broadcast on ESPN+ (paid subscription required) with live streaming audio from the Catamount Sports Network available online at CatamountSports.com for every game WCU plays in the postseason. The Catamount Club will host a special ‘Catamount Central’ at Mac's Speed Shop (930 S. Main Street; Greenville, S.C., 29601) ahead of each game WCU plays in the SoCon tournament. The pregame gathering is scheduled for two hours before the scheduled first pitch of each game, beginning at 1 p.m., on Thursday before the WCU's first tournament game.
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