Gregg, Gephart represent DC on 2024 HCAC All-Conference Baseball Team
CARMEL, Ind. – Two Defiance College sluggers received recognition as all-conference selections as the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference announced the 2024 Baseball All-Conference Team on Wednesday. Junior infielder Gunner Gregg (Graytown, Ohio/Oak Harbor) garnered Second Team honors while sophomore first baseman Connor Gephart (Lima, Ohio/Lima Central Catholic) was awarded Honorable Mention.
The power-hitting duo provided plenty of fuel to Defiance's offense in 2024 as they finished first and second in the program in nearly every offensive category, including home runs, RBIs, hits, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. Gephart's eight home runs were tied for eighth among all HCAC hitters and finished one shy of tying the program record. Both Gregg and Gephart were among the conference's Top 10 in slugging percentage (Gephart, .622, 5th; Gregg, .574, 10th) and OPS (Gephart, 1.076, 6th; Gregg, 1.006, 9th).
Gregg's Second Team honor is the first of his college career as he led the Yellow Jackets with a .353 batting average, 48 total hits, 23 runs scored, and 15 multi-hit games. One of the highlights of his campaign was hitting for the cycle during the team's season-finale doubleheader against Earlham on May 5 to pick up HCAC Hitter of the Week and a spot on the D3Baseball.com Team of the Week.
Gephart's first season in purple and gold was more than promising as he paced the program in homers (8), RBIs (29), extra-base hits (18), and walks (20) in addition to the aforementioned slugging percentage and OPS. He also reached base in 35 of 36 games he played, including a 28-game on-base streak to finish the season. Gephart also owned the team's longest hitting streak of the season at 11 games during the second half of April.
The complete list of HCAC All-Conference selections is listed below:
All-Conference 1st Team
|
Name |
Position |
School |
|
Matthew Alter |
Pitcher |
Hanover College |
|
Alex Christie |
Third Base |
Hanover College |
|
Colter Couillard-Rodak |
Second Base |
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology |
|
Jake Danneman |
Shortstop |
Hanover College |
|
Garrett DeHart |
Outfield |
Franklin College |
|
Reid Douglas |
Catcher |
Hanover College |
|
Matt Frye |
Relief Pitcher |
Mount St. Joseph University |
|
John Girard |
Pitcher |
Hanover College |
|
Ian Kline |
Pitcher |
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology |
|
Kade Kline |
Outfield |
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology |
|
Tysen Lipscomb |
Outfield |
Franklin College |
|
Ethan Mason |
Designated Hitter |
Mount St. Joseph University |
|
Justin Maurer |
First Base |
Bluffton University |
|
Anton Mere |
Outfield |
Mount St. Joseph University |
|
Landen Southern |
Pitcher |
Anderson University |
|
Trent Youngblood |
Shortstop |
Transylvania University |
All-Conference 2nd Team
|
Name |
Position |
School |
|
Matt Armstrong |
Relief Pitcher |
Transylvania University |
|
Connor Arnold |
Pitcher |
Transylvania University |
|
Jake Baumgartner |
Second Base |
Bluffton University |
|
Robert Carroll |
Outfield |
Hanover College |
|
Jed Downham |
Catcher |
Anderson University |
|
Dillon Fischer |
Pitcher |
Earlham College |
|
Max Fries |
Outfield |
Earlham College |
|
Second Base |
Defiance College |
|
|
Chris Hautmann |
Pitcher |
Hanover College |
|
Connor O'Connell |
Third Base |
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology |
|
Eric Roudebush |
Outfield |
Hanover College |
|
Calvin Schubert |
Outfield |
Transylvania University |
|
Austin Taylor |
First Base |
Transylvania University |
|
Jack Towell |
Shortstop |
Bluffton University |
|
Noah Wathen |
Pitcher |
Anderson University |
|
Griffin Wolf |
Designated Hitter |
Anderson University |
All-Conference Honorable Mention
|
Name |
Position |
School |
|
First Base |
Defiance College |
|
|
Rocco Hanes |
Utility |
Manchester University |
|
Charlie Jones |
Second Base |
Anderson University |
|
Joel Kennedy |
Designated Hitter |
Manchester University |
|
Henry Mitcham |
Second Base |
Transylvania University |
|
Andrew Oesterling |
Outfield |
Hanover College |
|
Jonathan Oliger |
Pitcher/Third Base |
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology |
|
Aiden Post |
Pitcher |
Mount St. Joseph University |
|
Riley Reyna |
Pitcher |
Bluffton University |
|
Mitchell Roether |
First Base |
Earlham College |
|
AJ Sanders |
Shortstop |
Franklin College |
Support Defiance College Athletics at the 2024 Yellow Jacket Classic golf outing on June 15 at Eagle Rock Golf Club. Details about the outing can be found by clicking here. All new graduates have a discounted price for registration. Also, Defiance College is celebrating 175 years on March 23, 2025. The 175th Anniversary Campaign is currently underway. Click here to find out more or to give today!
-JACKETS-