Oklahoma City – After leading Texas Wesleyan to the Sooner Athletic Conference regular season title, Brendon Vela has been named the 2026 SAC Baseball Player of the Year as voted on by the league’s head coaches before the start of the conference tournament last week.
 
Ibrahim Gonzalez of Mid-America Christian garnered the conference Pitcher of the Year honor, while Nick Hill of Mid-America Christian earned the Newcomer of the Year award, with Samir Gonzalez of Central Christian claiming the Freshman of the Year honor. Robert Garza of Texas Wesleyan was named this year’s Coach of the Year by his peers.
 
Vela finished the season second in the conference with a .454 batting average and led the league with 98 hits, 22 doubles, and seven triples. Vela was also third in the conference with 61 runs batted in and third with 62 runs scored.
 
Ibrahim Gonzalez led the league with a 1.91 earned run average in finishing the season with a 10-2 record while tossing six complete games. Gonzalez had 86 strikeouts during the year and held opposing teams to a .216 batting average.
 
Hill completed the season with a .350 batting average and was tops in the league with a .798 slugging percentage. Hill paced the conference with 67 runs batted in and was second in runs scored with 56.
 
Samir Gonzalez finished his freshman campaign with a .22 batting average in 27 games played this season with a slugging percentage of .407 on the year. Gonzalez had six runs batted in and scored seven times. Gonzalez also went 2-2 over 11 starts in 55.2 innings pitched with 46 K’s and a 4.37 ERA.
 
Garza led the Rams to the regular-season title with an overall record of 42-10 and a program-best conference mark of 22-5, as Texas Wesleyan is currently ranked 15^th in the current NAIA Coaches Poll.
 
Here is the complete list of All-Conference and postseason award winners.
 
2026 SAC Baseball All-Conference
Player of the Year – Brendon Vela, Tex Wes
Pitcher of the Year - Ibrahim Gonzalez, MACU
Newcomer of the Year - Nick Hill, MACU
Freshman of the Year – Samir Gonzalez, CCC
Coach of the Year – Robert Garza, Tex Wes
 
First Team:
Catcher – Adonis Bernal, WBU
Catcher – Duncan Key, USAO
1B – Frankie Giacalone, MACU
2B – Corey Morro, USAO
3B – Nick Hill, MACU
SS – Jose Rangel, Tex Wes
UTL – Aiden Van Rensum, OCU
DH – Brendon Vela, Tex Wes
OF – Henry Garcia, USAO
OF – Trent Baker, OCU 
OF – Drew Ortiz, Nelson
OF – Jalen King, MACU
SP – Ibrahim Gonzalez, MACU
SP – Sam Mendez, Tex Wes
SP – Reagan Smith, Nelson
SP – Nick Julian, CCC
RP – Liam Taft, MACU
 
Second Team:
 
Catcher – Chase Robertson, CofO
Catcher – Zeke Velaquez, Nelson
1B – Arcadio Martinez, WBU
2B – Cole Krepcik, MACU
3B – Giuseppe Buttaci, Tex Wes
SS – Genesis Nunez, OPSU
UTL – Josh Pinter, Nelson
DH – Adam Hanan, MACU
OF – Aiden Alexander, OCU
OF – Sammy Hallada, MACU
OF – Kurt Ippolito, CCC
OF – Christian Toledo, WBU
SP – Michael Pelosi, Tex Wes
SP – Fabian Hernandez, MACU
SP – Justin Evasovic, CCC
SP – Cameron Jennings, CofO
RP – Nick Anaya, OCU
 
Gold Glove:
 
Catcher – Jahzeel Groetelaers, MACU
1B - Frankie Giacalone, MACU
2B - Corey Morro, USAO
3B - Nick Hill, MACU
SS - Jose Rangel, Tex Wes
LF - Trent Baker, OCU 
CF - Aiden Alexander, OCU 
RF - Henry Garcia, USAO
P - Michael Pelosi, Tex Wes