RUSTON, La. – Louisiana Tech's Ryan Harland highlights the list of Bulldogs as he is named Freshman of the Year as announced by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association on Tuesday morning.
 
Closer Kyle Crigger, shortstop Taylor Young and centerfielder Cole McConnell all earn spots on the first team while starting pitcher Jonathan Fincher and right fielder Steele Netterville were named to the second team. Bulldog catcher Jorge Corona rounds out the list of student-athletes as an honorable mention.
 
Harland, who was named Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball in June, was a key piece to the LA Tech bullpen in his first season. The Baton Rouge native posted a 3.21 ERA with a 46 to six strikeout-to-walk ratio over 42.0 innings pitched. The southpaw went an incredible 24 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. Harland was also named to the C-USA All-Freshman team and second team All-Conference.
 
Crigger, a First Team All-Conference USA honoree, led the bullpen in his senior season for the Bulldogs. The right-handed closer hurled a 2.35 ERA over 69.0 innings pitched. Crigger put together one of the best performances on the mound this season when he went the distance going four innings with a career-high eight strikeouts in a 7-6 12 inning win over No. 14 LSU in Baton Rouge. Crigger was recently drafted in the seventh round of the 2022 MLB Draft by the Miami Marlins.
 
Young, who was named ABCA/Rawlings First Team All-American, was the sparkplug of the LA Tech offense at the leadoff spot. The senior shortstop finished the year with a .364 batting average, 12 home runs, 23 doubles and led the nation for the second straight year with 89 runs scored. Young holds the all-time games played record at 249 and all-time hits record with 297. He was recently drafted in the eighth round by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2022 MLB Draft.
 
McConnell, a First Team All-Conference USA selection, was an RBI machine in his sophomore season with the Bulldogs. The centerfielder started all 64 games with the majority of his starts in the clean up spot of the batting order. The Beaumont, Texas native finished first on the team with 24 doubles, second on the team with a .336 batting average and broke the single-season RBI record at Tech with 76 placing him 13^th in the nation and second in C-USA.
 
Fincher, who was named Second Team by the LSWA, finished off his redshirt junior season with a 3.52 ERA and led the club in wins with eight. The left-hander was third on the team in innings pitched with 79.1 and posted a remarkable 73 to nine strikeout-to-walk ratio.
 
Netterville, a back-to-back Academic All-American, ranked third on the squad with a .313 batting average and startd every game for the Bulldogs in right field. The senior slugger was second on the team in home runs with 15 and broke the school's all-time doubles record in the series versus Florida Atlantic.
 
Corona, a Second Team All-Conference USA honoree, blasted a team-leading 16 home runs in his sophomore season. The Miami native finished the year hotter than any Bulldog at the plate and homered three times in the Austin Regional including an inside-the-park grand slam. His defense was stellar behind the plate, gunning down 20 base runners in 39 steal attempts.
 
HITTER OF THE YEAR – Dylan Crews, LSU 
PITCHER OF THE YEAR – Cameron Foster, McNeese 
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR – Ryan Harland, Louisiana Tech 
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR – Jacob Berry, LSU 
COACH OF THE YEAR – Brad Neffendorf, LSU-Shreveport 
 
FIRST TEAM 
P – Kyle Crigger, Louisiana Tech
P – Cameron Foster, McNeese  
P – Ma'Khail Hilliard, LSU P – Kevin Miranda, LSU-Shreveport
C – John Garcia, Grambling
1B – Carson Roccaforte, Louisiana
2B – Amani Larry, New Orleans
3B – Jacob Berry, LSU
SS – Taylor Young, Louisiana Tech
OF – Dylan Crews, LSU
OF – Ethan Groff, Tulane
OF – Cole McConnell, Louisiana Tech
DH – Luke Clement, Loyola (N.O.)  
Utility – Shemar Page, Grambling  
 
SECOND TEAM 
P – Bo Bonds, Louisiana  
P – Jonathan Fincher, Louisiana Tech  
P – Paul Gervase, LSU  
P – Bobby Vath, LSU-Shreveport 
C – Julian Brock, Louisiana 
1B – Preston Faulkner, Southeastern 
2B – Cade Doughty, LSU 
3B – Julian Flores, LSU-Shreveport 
SS – Austin McNicholas, LSU-Shreveport 
OF – Payton Harden, McNeese 
OF – Pearce Howard, New Orleans 
OF – Steele Netterville, Louisiana Tech 
DH – Connor Kimple, Louisiana 
Utility – Preston Ludwick, Centenary College 
 
Honorable Mention: P – Tyler Herrera, Centenary; Patrick Vienne, LSU-Eunice; C – Jorge Corona, Louisiana Tech; 1B – Tre' Morgan, LSU; 2B – Brad Burckel, McNeese; 3B – Allen Dennis, Loyola; OF – Mason Holt, ULM; Ryan Major, LSU-Shreveport; DH – Brayden Jobert, LSU. 
 
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