LAFAYETTE, La. — South Alabama baseball coach Mark Calvi was named the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year and junior Jordan Patterson was named the league’s Player of the Year on Tuesday, as seven Jaguars earned All-Sun Belt honors.
The awards were presented at the Sun Belt Family Fun Night at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field in Lafayette, on the eve of the conference tournament. South Alabama opens Sun Belt Tournament play Wednesday against UALR.
Patterson Joins Elite List
Patterson is the sixth South Alabama player to be named Sun Belt Player of the Year, and the first since David Freese in 2006. The award is voted on by the conference’s coaches.
He joins a list of Jaguar winners that includes Mike Zimmerman (1990), Jon Lieber (1992), Marlon Anderson (1995), Juan Pierre (1998) and Freese.
Patterson was also named to the All-Sun Belt first team as a utility player. It is the second straight season he has earned all-conference recognition and his first selection to the first team.
Seven All-Conference Selections
Designated hitter Dustin Dalken and second baseman Robby Campbell joined Patterson on the first team.
Four Jaguars were named to the second team:
- Matt Bell, starting pitcher
- Kyle Bartsch, relief pitcher
- Whitt Dorsey, catcher
- Nolan Earley, outfielder
South Alabama and Louisiana-Lafayette tied for the most all-conference selections with seven each. It is the most for a Jaguars team since 2006, when seven South Alabama players also made the All-Sun Belt team.
Regular-Season Title Recognized
The Jaguars were also recognized during the event for their share of the Sun Belt regular-season championship. It is the 14th Sun Belt title for South Alabama baseball.
Calvi Earns Ron Maestri Award
Calvi received the Ron Maestri Coach of the Year award following the team recognition. He joins former South Alabama coaches Eddie Stanky, who won the award in 1983, and Steve Kittrell, who earned it in 1992, 1996, 1998, 2001 and 2003, as Jaguar head coaches honored by the conference.
Calvi has led South Alabama to 40 wins this season, the program’s most since 2003, along with 20 conference victories, the most since the Jaguars won 27 league games in 1999.
South Alabama plays its home games at Stanky Field in Mobile.
