INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Announced by the conference on Tuesday, May 24, a total of five Oakland Golden Grizzlies were recognized for their 2022 accomplishments with #HLBASE All-League honors.
Jordon Banfield was named Coach of the Year after guiding Oakland to a 29-25 (18-11 Horizon League) regular season, setting a program record for wins in a season at the NCAA Division I level in the process. In his second season at the helm, the 35-year-old Banfield is currently sixth on the program's all-time wins list with 47.
Third baseman Brandon Nigh was named the Freshman of the Year and also earned spots on the All-Horizon League First Team and All-Freshman Team.
Leading the league in both slugging (.634) and on-base percentage (.492), Nigh has hit .355 (33-for-93), establishing himself as the Golden Grizzlies' cleanup man by mid-March. Despite missing 19 games from April 15-May 15 with a lower-body injury, the Temperance Bedford product is still tied for the team lead in home runs with seven and his 32 RBI are second-most on the club.
Joining Nigh on the All-League First Team was graduate student middle infielder Brad Goulet. Starting all 42 games he has played, Goulet's .343 batting average (59-for-172) is fifth-best in the conference and he leads the Horizon League with 20 stolen bases, a feat he accomplished in 23 attempts, good for an 87 percent success rate.
Rounding out Oakland's representation were versatile senior Jared Miller and redshirt senior right fielder Brenton Phillips with spots on the All-League Second Team.
As a club, the Golden Grizzlies lead the conference with a .290 batting average and Miller and Phillips have played large roles in that, checking in at .311 and .313, respectively.
After primarily playing shortstop and third base in 2021, Miller has expanded his defensive flexibility for Banfield in 2022, seeing time at both infield corners, second base, and left field. Since the calendar flipped to May, he has been one of the Horizon League's toughest outs, collecting at least one hit in 12 of the 13 games Oakland has played this month, raising his batting average by 41 points during this stretch.
A model of consistency, Phillips has played in a team-high 53 games this season, all of which have been starts. Fourth in the league with 63 hits, the Georgia native leads the Golden Grizzlies with two triples and is second on the squad with 11 doubles.
In his second year with the program after spending 2020 in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) with the Akron Zips, Phillips was particularly lethal in Oakland's series victory over the Milwaukee Panthers from April 29-May 1, hitting .615 (8-for-13) with a home run, five RBI, and three runs scored in the three games.
Earning the No. 2 seed in the Horizon League Tournament, which will be held on the campus of Wright State in Dayton, Ohio, the Golden Grizzlies received a Wednesday bye and will play their first game on Thursday, May 26 at 3 p.m.
No. 4 Purdue Fort Wayne and No. 5 Youngstown State will play at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, followed by No. 3 UIC and No. 6 Northern Kentucky at 4 p.m. The losers of these two games will be eliminated, while Oakland will play the higher remaining seed on Thursday.
Full 2022 #HLBASE Award Winners
Player of the Year: Alec Sayre, Wright State
Pitcher of the Year: Matt Brosky, Youngstown State
Relief Pitcher of the Year: AJ Blubaugh, Milwaukee
Freshman of the Year: Brandon Nigh, Oakland
Coach of the Year: Jordon Banfield, Oakland
All-Horizon League First Team
C: Cole Conn, UIC
1B: Gehrig Anglin, Wright State
2B: Braeden O'Shaughnessy, Youngstown State
3B: Manny Vorhees, Northern Kentucky
SS: Brad Goulet, Oakland
OF: Bryan Rosario, UIC
OF: Julian Greenwell, Wright State
OF: Alec Sayre, Wright State
DH/Flex: Brandon Nigh, Oakland
SP: Tyler Ingram, UIC
SP: Nate Petersen, UIC
SP: Matt Brosky, Youngstown State
RP: AJ Blubaugh, Milwaukee
All-Horizon League Second Team
C: Cade Fitzpatrick, Purdue Fort Wayne
1B: Breck Nowik, UIC
2B: Jared Miller, Oakland
3B: Jack Lang, Purdue Fort Wayne
SS: Ryan Lin-Peistrup, UIC
OF: Luke Seidal, Milwaukee
OF: Brennan Gick, Northern Kentucky
OF: Brenton Phillips, Oakland
DH/Flex: Zane Harris, Wright State
SP: Riley Frey, Milwaukee
SP: Jake Shirk, Wright State
SP: Alex Theis, Wright State
RP: Jay Luikart, Wright State
Horizon League All-Freshman Team (alphabetical by school)
Justin Hausser, Milwaukee
Brandon Nigh, Oakland
Rex Stills, Purdue Fort Wayne
Breck Nowik, UIC
Sebastian Gongora, Wright State
Andrew Patrick, Wright State
Justin Riemer, Wright State
