Baseball Welcomes 14 Newcomers for 2024 Season

Posted: Oct 31, 2023

AMERICUS, Ga. -- Georgia Southwestern State University head baseball coach Josh McDonald has signed 14 players to his 2024 class after a record-breaking season that saw the Hurricanes win the Peach Belt Conference Championship. Georgia Southwestern's 2024 class is loaded with talent from multiple states. The class also features a NCAA Division I transfer and an international player and adds to a roster that kept its core from the 2023 season.

"We are excited about this group of guys coming in," Coach McDonald remarked on his recruiting class. "(Assistant Coach) Tyler Bender did another outstanding job coordinating this incoming class. We expect each guy to impact right away and help continue the elevation of this program on a national stage."

GSW returns four players who were named to the PBC All-Conference team and a player who was awarded a Rawlings Gold Glove.

Starting pitcher Nick McCollum was awarded First Team All-Region and had an incredible season with a 9-3 overall record and a 3.01 earned run average. A redshirt senior from Richmond Hill, Ga., McCollum started 15 games last spring with 113.2 innings pitched and a posted a PBC-best four complete-game shutouts against conference opponents. He finished fifth in the conference in ERA, was second in strikeouts and wins, and was named PBC Pitcher of the Year. He had a streak of 19 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. McCollum became the third straight Hurricane to win the Pitcher of the Year Award, keeping the honor in Americus for the fourth year in a row.

Pitcher Rijnaldo Euson was awarded Second Team All-Region and First Team All-Conference. The redshirt junior from Haines City, Fla., finished last season with a 9-1 overall record and a 3.00 earned run average. Euson started 15 games with 98 innings pitched and three complete game shutouts against conference opponents. He finished third in the conference in ERA, was the strikeouts leader, and was third in wins. Euson was also named PBC Pitcher of the Week twice.

Outfielder Jake Blinstrub a graduate student from Peachtree, Ga., finished the 2023 season a team high .344 batting average also led the team in hits (64) and was second on the team in on base percentage (.458) and was perfect on defense not committing an error all season.

Utility player Miles Hartsfield was awarded Second Team All-Conference honors. A senior from Gainesville, Ga., ended his 2023 season with a .278 average. He finished second on the team in walks (25), second in stolen bases (16) flashed the leather with 53 put outs and 93 assists.

Paul Hegeman was awarded the Rawlings Gold Glove Award. Hegeman, a redshirt junior from St. Simons Island, Ga., started 51 games at first base last spring in his first season with the Hurricanes. He transferred to Georgia Southwestern from Chattahoochee Valley Community College after completing his prep ball at Glynn Academy. Hegeman did not commit an error with 381 total chances, made 18 assists and was involved in turning 25 double plays in 2023 to become GSW's first Gold Glove Award winner.

Newcomers

KJ Baker

KJ comes to GSW as a transfer from Lincoln Memorial University
Spent his first two seasons of collegiate baseball pitching at Columbia State CC
Struck out 37 batters in 22 innings in his final year at Columbia State
KJ is a redshirt sophomore from Nashville, Tenn.

Kyle Hilton

Kyle comes to GSW as a transfer two-way player from NCAA Division I Georgia State University
Appeared in 80 games with the Panthers
He drove in 21 runs
Had a .986 fielding percentage behind the dish at his time at Georgia State
Hilton is a senior from Savannah, Ga.

Justin Clark

Justin comes to GSW as a transfer RHP from Pasco Hernando State College
He was second on the team in appearances
Amassed a 3.23 ERA in 39 innings pitched
Clark is a redshirt junior from Fort Myers, Fla.

Daniel Barcena

Daniel comes to GSW as a transfer RHP from Bob Jones University
He will be a full-time pitcher for the first time in his career
A two-way player at Bob Jones
Barcena struck out 27 batters in 16 innings pitched
He was named First Team All-Region Catcher
Barcena is a redshirt junior from Cape Coral, Fla.

D aemon Woodruff

Woodruff comes to GSW as a transfer RHP from Erskine College
Daemon pitched in 22 innings
Struck out 22 batters
Woodruff also played at Eastern Florida State College
He pitched 22 innings with a 2.45 ERA in his final season at EFSC
Daemon is a junior from Titusville, Fla.

J.D. Price

Price comes to GSW as a transfer RHP from Southern Union State Community College
Finished last season with a 1.93 ERA in 32.2 innings pitched
JD led the team in appearances (17)
Price is a junior from Knoxville, Tenn.

Nicholas Plaisted

Nicholas comes to GSW as a transfer utility player from Pasco Hernando State College
He is the PHSC program leader in hits, walks, and runs scored
Last season hit .331 with 3 home runs, 9 doubles, and 29 RBIs
Nicholas is a junior from Lutz, Fla.