Three Specialty Awards Headline Raidergang’s 14 All-League Honors

DAYTON/INDIANAPOLIS- The Wright State baseball team was well represented when the Horizon League announced its yearly All-League awards Tuesday afternoon, earning a league-high 14 awards.

Heading the Raiders' honors were a trio of specialty awards: Freshman of the Year Keegan Holmstrom, Patrick Fultz, who picked up the Sportsmanship Award, and Head Coach Alex Sogard, who was named the Coach of the Year for the sixth time.

Wright State placed five players, Andrew Duncan, Keegan Holmstrom, Chet Lax, Griffen Paige, and Hunter Warren, on the All-League First Team. The Raiders placed four more players, Michael Bilo, Braylen Blomquist, Patrick Fultz, and JP Peltier, on the All-League Second Team. Holmstrom earned additional recognition by being named to the All-Freshman team alongside fellow newcomers Cooper Gilkerson and Michael Zielinski.

COACH OF THE YEAR
Wright State skipper Alex Sogard earned his third consecutive and fourth Horizon League Coach of the Year title of his illustrious career, extending his program record. Sogard led the Raiders to their eighth consecutive Horizon League Regular Season Title with a 25-26 overall record and 17-7 mark in conference play. Sogard led the Raiders to five power conference wins over four different opponents, defeating Cincinnati, No. 6 Georgia, No. 19 Tennessee, and Ohio State twice.

Under Sogard's guidance, Wright State leads the Horizon League in a multitude of offensive statistical categories, including hits (523), triples (21), total bases (846), and slugging percentage (.472). The Raiders also get it done on the mound, leading the Horizon League in ERA (5.65), hits allowed (440), runs allowed (305), and strikeouts (428). The Raidergang is also one of the best defensive teams, leading the Horizon League and ranking 19th nationally with a 0.980 fielding percentage.

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Redshirt freshman first baseman Keegan Holmstrom picked up the Horizon League Freshman of the Year award following his stellar first collegiate season. It is the second consecutive Freshman of the Year honor for the Raiders, with Warren earning the honor a season ago. Holmstrom played in 50 games for the Raiders with 43 starts, slashing .358/.424/.452 across his freshman campaign. The Grove City, Ohio, native recorded a hit in 33 games this season with 17 multi-hit games. Holmstrom's .358 batting average ranked second in the Horizon League and 135th nationally. The redshirt freshman played a nearly perfect first base defensively, sporting a league-high.997 fielding percentage, recording a league-best 347 putouts.

SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Senior Patrick Fultz was named the Horizon League Sportsmanship Award recipient, the first in program history. Fultz has been a four-year starter for the Raiders, winning four Horizon League Regular Season Titles and a pair of Tournament Championships. The Springfield, Ohio, native serves as the baseball representative on the Wright State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and leads the team during team gatherings.

"Pat is one of the greatest leaders I have been fortunate to coach in the past 10 years," said Coach Sogard. "He has a passion for people and takes time to invest in the people around him. He is a winner, has been an all-league player for multiple years in this league, but will be remembered for the impact he had on those people around him."

ALL-LEAGUE FIRST TEAM
Duncan picked up First-Team honors in his first season for the Raidergang. The junior played 50 games in centerfield for the Raiders, making 49 starts, slashing .353/.552/.422 in all games, improving to .381/.581/.458 in conference play. Duncan finished second in the Horizon League in hits with 71, tallying a hit in 39 games with 21 multi-hit games. The Dunedin, Florida native also leads the Horizon League and is tied for the nation's lead in triples with eight on the season.

Holmstrom picked up the first All-League honor of his collegiate career in 2026. The Grove City, Ohio native played in 50 games for the Raiders, making 43 starts, recording a hit in 33 games this season with 17 multi-hit games. The redshirt freshman slashed an impressive .358/.474/.452 on the season, with those numbers jumping to .394/.500/.496 in Horizon League play. Holmstrom's .358 batting average ranked second in the Horizon League and 135th nationally. The First baseman was the anchor of the Wright State defense, leading the Horizon League with a .997 fielding percentage and 347 putouts.

Lax picked up the second All-League award of his collegiate career after being named to the All-Freshman team in 2024. The left-hander made 15 appearances on the mound for the Raiders with 12 starts. Lax twirled a team-high 71.1 innings to the tune of a team-best 4.04 ERA (among qualified pitchers). The Junior was the winning pitcher in nine of his 12 starts; his 9-0 record leads the Horizon League and is tied for the second-most wins in a season by a Horizon League player over the last decade. The Henderson, Tennessee native turned in six quality starts for the Raiders, highlighted by seven shutout innings in his home state in a win over No. 19 Tennessee.

Paige earned the first All-League award of his collegiate career in his third season for the Raiders. The junior made 13 starts on the mound for the Raiders, pitching 68.1 innings to the tune of a 4.48 ERA. Paige leads the Horizon League and ranks 27th nationally in hits allowed per nine innings, allowing 6.45 hits per nine innings. He also leads in the Horizon League in batting average, holding batters to a .205 batting average. His batting average against drops to .188 in Horizon League play. Paige has delivered four quality starts for the Raiders, highlighted by six shutout innings against Northern Kentucky.

Warren picked up his second consecutive First Team All-League honor after being named the Horizon League Freshman of the Year and First Team member a season ago. The redshirt sophomore is slashing .364/.537/.430 in 51 games for the Raiders, and those numbers jump to .393/.527/.431 in Horizon League play. Warren leads the Horizon League and is ranked 36th nationally with 78 hits on the season, recording hits in 34 games with 17 multi-hit games. Warren's .364 batting average leads the Horizon League and ranks 99th nationally.

ALL-LEAGUE SECOND TEAM
Bilo earns the first All-League honor of his career in his first season with the Raidergang. The right-hander made 16 appearances for the Raiders, all out of the bullpen, pitching 27.1 innings. In his 27.1 innings of work, Bilo held batters to just a .189 batting average, allowing just 18 hits while striking out 29 batters. The sophomore picked up a pair of saves for the Raiders, pitching three shutout innings against Milwaukee and a shutdown ninth inning against Ohio State.

Blomquist earns his second All-League honor in as many seasons following his stellar sophomore campaign. Blomquist played 49 games at shortstop for the Raiders with 48 starts. The sophomore slashed an impressive .315/.454/.385 in Horizon League play with a pair of home runs. Blomquist also finished third in the Horizon League with three triples, only trailing his teammates Duncan and Turner.

Fultz picks up the third All-League selection of his collegiate career after being named to the All-League Second Team in 2024 and All-Freshman Team in 2023. The senior played in 48 games for the Raiders at third base, making 47 starts. Fultz was stellar for the Raiders in conference play, slashing .356/.678/.454 tied for the team-high with seven home runs.

Peltier picked up All-League honors for the second consecutive season after his great year at the plate for the Raiders. The junior played in and started all 51 games for the Raiders, primarily in left field. Peltier slashed .294/.539/.393 in all games this season while leading the Horizon League and ranking 28th nationally with 20 doubles. Peltier was crucial in both Raiders wins over ranked opponents, launching a two-run blast in the win at No. 6 Georgia and tallying two hits with three RBIs in the win at No. 19 Tennessee

ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
The postseason honors continue to roll in for Holmstrom, being named to the All-Freshman team. The freshman played in 50 games for the Raiders, making 43 starts. The Grove City, Ohio, slashed an impressive .364/.537/.430 on the season, with those numbers jumping to .394/.500/.496 in Horizon League play. As a freshman, Holmstrom was the anchor of the Wright State defense, leading the Horizon League with a .997 fielding percentage and 347 putouts.

Gilkerson made the second-most appearances by a freshman on the mound for the Raiders, pitching in 17 games with one start. The right-hander pitched one or more innings in 14 of his 17 appearances, highlighted by a 2.2 shutout innings against Youngstown State, where he struck out five batters. Gilkerson picked up his first collegiate save on April 21 against Cincinnati, where he pitched two innings.

Zielinski made an immediate impact for the Raiders in his freshman campaign, leading the Raiders with 20 appearances on the season, all out of the bullpen. In his collegiate debut, the left-hander pitched three shutout innings at No. 6 Georgia. Zielinski's longest outing of the season came against Oakland, where he pitched four shutout innings with a career-high five strikeouts.

Three Specialty Awards Headline Raidergang’s 14 All-League Honors

Players Mentioned

Michael Bilo

Braylen Blomquist

Andrew Duncan

Patrick Fultz

Cooper Gilkerson

Keegan Holmstrom

Chet Lax

Griffen Paige

JP Peltier

Hunter Warren

Michael Zielinski

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