Baseball | 5/13/2021 12:33:00 PM
MELBOURNE, Fla. – Barry pitcher Frank Gonzalez was named to the All-Sunshine State Conference baseball First-Team, while teammates Ihosvany Casteneda and Ben Terwilliger made the Second-Team. In total, 37 student-athletes are recognized on the league's all-conference baseball teams. Voting for the All-SSC baseball awards is conducted among the conference's baseball coaches.
Tampa collected nine accolades, including Pitcher of the Year and Coach of the Year, after winning the 2021 conference championship. This year's accolades include All-Defensive Team honors for the first time in league history, and the Bucs put two members on there as well.
Gonzalez went 4-0 on the mound, to run his career record to 14-3, with a 3.60 ERA and 58 strikeouts against 11 walks in 55.0 innings. Gonzalez led the conference in innings pitched, strikeouts and strikeouts looking (18).
Casteneda batted .321 in his first season with the Bucs, leading the team in runs scored (21) and tying for the lead in home runs (2), stolen bases (13) and multi-hit games (7). He closed the season reaching base in nine straight games.
Terwilliger blossomed as one of the back-end of the bullpen guys in the SSC. He went 1-0 with a 0.69 ERA and four saves in 13.0 innings. He struck out 20 and walked just four. He converted four of five save opportunities.
SSC Baseball All-Conference History: All-SSC Teams | Players & Coaches of the Year
Vaun Brown from Florida Southern earned the 2021 SSC Player of the Year. Jordan Leasure received Pitcher of the Year following 12 appearances in 2021 for Tampa. Nova Southeastern's Tyler Epstein was accorded Freshman of the Year. SSC baseball coaches selected Joe Urso as Coach of the Year for the 13th time in his career.
Florida Southern's Jacob Teter and Barry's Andrew Rapoza repeat as All-SSC honorees5, while 35 student-athletes earn their first career All-SSC honor in 2021. This year's accolades include All-Defensive Team honors for the first time in league history.
Catcher Blake Brito and outfielder Rapoza were named to the inaugural All-Defensive Team. Brito led the team with 152 putouts and threw out three base runners. Rapoza led the outfielders in putouts with 68 and posted a clean sheet with no errors in the field.
Player of the Year: Vaun Brown, Florida Southern
Pitcher of the Year: Jordan Leasure, Tampa
Freshman of the Year: Tyler Epstein, Nova Southeastern
Coach of the Year: Joe Urso, Tampa
| 2021 All-SSC Baseball First Team |
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
| 1B |
Jacob Teter |
Florida Southern |
Jr. |
Melbourne, Florida |
| 2B |
Nicholas Winkelmeyer |
Tampa |
So. |
Sarasota, Florida |
| 3B |
Sam LaFontaine |
Rollins |
Gr. |
Hudson, Ohio |
| SS |
Tyler Epstein |
Nova Southeastern |
Fr. |
Pembroke Pines, Florida |
| C |
Robert Fabelo |
Palm Beach Atlantic |
Gr. |
Miami, Florida |
| UT |
Paul Coumoulos |
Saint Leo |
Jr. |
Spring Hill, Florida |
| DH |
Connor Berry |
Florida Southern |
So. |
Seminole, Florida |
| OF |
Vaun Brown |
Florida Southern |
Sr. |
Sarasota, Florida |
| OF |
Adan Fernandez |
Nova Southeastern |
Jr. |
Miramar, Florida |
| OF |
EJ Cumbo |
Tampa |
So. |
East Meadow, New York |
| OF |
Lawrence Cicileo |
Lynn |
Sr. |
Milford, Pennsylvania |
| SP |
Michael Paul |
Tampa |
Jr. |
Clearwater, Florida |
| SP |
Jaylyn Whitehead |
Rollins |
Sr. |
Ocoee, Florida |
| SP |
Frank Gonzalez |
Barry |
So. |
Miramar, Florida |
| SP |
JP Williams |
Nova Southeastern |
Sr. |
Melbourne, Florida |
| RP |
Jordan Leasure |
Tampa |
Jr. |
Tampa, Florida |
|
|
|
|
|
| 2021 All-SSC Baseball Second Team |
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
| 1B |
John Malcom |
Tampa |
So. |
Detroit, Michigan |
| 2B |
Byron Murray |
Lynn |
Jr. |
Nassau, Bahamas |
| 3B |
Braden Forchic |
Lynn |
So. |
Boca Raton, Florida |
| SS |
Raul Quintero |
Florida Tech |
Sr. |
Weston, Florida |
| C |
Cody Oerther |
Rollins |
Jr. |
Windermere, Florida |
| OF |
Jake Vander Wal |
Saint Leo |
Sr. |
Ada, Michigan |
| OF |
Ihosvany Castaneda |
Barry |
So. |
Pembroke Pines, Florida |
| OF |
Jamarcus Lyons |
Tampa |
So. |
Tampa, Florida |
| OF |
Nick Santucci |
Rollins |
Gr. |
Franklin, Massachusetts |
| SP |
Eric Linder |
Tampa |
So. |
St. Johns, Florida |
| SP |
Boris Villa |
Florida Tech |
Jr. |
Barranquilla, Colombia |
| SP |
Jarrod Cande |
Florida Southern |
Jr. |
Tampa, Florida |
| SP |
Misael Castillo |
Lynn |
Sr. |
Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey |
| RP |
Ben Terwilliger |
Barry |
Jr. |
Elmira, New York |
|
|
|
|
|
| 2021 All-SSC Baseball Honorable Menton |
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
| OF |
Landen Morrison |
Palm Beach Atlantic |
Fr. |
Bradenton, Florida |
| SP |
JJ Lorenz |
Florida Tech |
So. |
Rockledge, Florida |
|
|
|
|
|
| 2021 SSC Baseball All-Defensive Team |
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
| 1B |
Jacob Teter |
Florida Southern |
Jr. |
Melbourne, Florida |
| 2B |
Dylan Costa |
Florida Southern |
So. |
Wellington, Florida |
| SS |
Tyler Epstein |
Nova Southeastern |
Fr. |
Pembroke Pines, Florida |
| C |
Blake Brito |
Barry |
Jr. |
Pembroke Pines, Florida |
| OF |
Sam Schner |
Florida Tech |
Fr. |
Boca Raton, Florida |
| OF |
Andrew Rapoza |
Barry |
Sr. |
New Bedford, Massachusetts |
| OF |
Stephen Schissler |
Nova Southeastern |
Fr. |
Pembroke Pines, Florida |
| P |
Jaylyn Whitehead |
Rollins |
Sr. |
Ocoee, Florida |
† = 2019 All-SSC First Team
^ = 2018 All-SSC Second Team
* = 2017 Freshman of the Year
1 Previous FSC Player of the Year winners: James Vida (1994), BJ Leach (1999), Justin Hancock (2002)
2 Previous RP's to be named Pitcher of the Year: Mike Adams, Tampa (2013)
3 Previous Tampa Pitcher of the Year Winners: Ricky Burton (1996), Mike Valdes (1998), Charlie Manning (2001), Eric Beattie (2003), Sergio Perez (2006), Kevin Ferguson (2007), Sean Bierman (2012), Mike Adams (2013), Preston Packrall (2014), David Lebron (2017-18)
4 Previous NSU Freshman of the Year Winners: Carlos Asuaje (2011), Brayan Valencia (2007), Duncan Pastore (2018)
5 No Sunshine State Conference All-Conferences awards were issued in Spring 2020
