DELAND, Fla. - Austin Peay State University's baseball team is set for the 2025 Atlantic Sun Conference Baseball Championship, as the Govs open up tournament play with a matchup against the North Florida Ospreys starting at 11:30 a.m. (CT), Tuesday, at Melching Field at Conrad Park in DeLand, Florida.

Leading Off

The Governors concluded their 2025 regular season on the road at Lipscomb last weekend and came away with their ninth series sweep of the season, going into the 2025 Atlantic Sun Conference Baseball Championship. The Governors finished their season with 43 wins, the most in a single regular season before postseason play in Austin Peay history. This year's team has rewritten the record books after becoming the fastest team in program history to reach the 30-win and 40-win marks. After losing two-thirds of their roster from last year, this year's team has proven to be just as good, if not better, than the 2024 championship team that shattered multiple team and individual records.

Governors Bullpen

The Governors had a team ERA of 5.48 this season, which is exactly two whole points lower than the 2024 staff last year. The numbers spoke for themselves, as the Govs were able to compete and stay in almost every game this season, thanks to the arms in the pen this year. Two arms stood out the most on the Governors' staff, and it was recognized by the league's coaches, as they voted two arms to the All-ASUN Second Team.

Graduate left-handed pitcher Gavin Braunecker was named to Second Team All-ASUN after a perfect 9-0 year on the mound. He led the league in wins and ranked 12th in the nation. His 34 runs allowed this season were the ninth fewest given up in the league, and his 16 walks allowed were tied for the fourth fewest in the league. In league play, Braunecker had the 10th-lowest opponent batting average of .246 and ranked seventh with 47 strikeouts.

Junior right-handed pitcher Lyndon Glidewell was named to the Second Team All-ASUN after finishing the year with a 7-0 record and a 3.44 ERA, which ranked sixth in the league. His .222 opponent batting average ranked fifth in the league, and his seven wins were tied for third in the ASUN. He allowed 57 hits this year, which were the seventh fewest of any pitcher in the league, and his 27 earned runs allowed were tied for the fifth fewest.

Two arms did not define this year's staff, however. Arms like Jacob Weaver, Chance Cox, Kaleb Applebey, and many more were key contributors to this team's success on the diamond, and their 43-win season would not have been possible without them.

First Hacks

The 2025 Governors had another huge year at the plate, standing out as one of the top offenses in the nation, landing inside the top five in multiple offensive categories. Austin Peay led the ASUN in 14 offensive categories, and it was honored by recognizing eight standout players in the league on Monday after voting by the league's coaches. 

• Center fielder John Bay finished the season batting .360, with an ASUN-leading 22 home runs. He was a unanimous decision and named to the All-ASUN First Team for the second time in his career on Monday. He led the nation with 91 runs scored, and his season totals and percentages will go down as some of the best in a single season, as well as contribute to his career totals, making him one of the best players to come through Austin Peay.
• Outfielder Cameron Nickens was named the league's Player of the Year after leading the conference in two of three triple-slash categories, batting a blazing hot .426 with a .789 slugging and a .529 on-base percentage. After just one season with the Governors, he will go down as one of the best to represent the Red and White.
• Outfielder Brody Szako, although he did not make an all-conference team this season, his year did not go unnoticed, as he was one of the standout players on the roster this season after missing time in the lineup due to injuries throughout the season. He ranked among the top of all Division I hitters in isolated power at the plate, as he had 23 of his 39 hits go for extra bases. He hit eight doubles, two triples, and 13 home runs while batting .281 with a .647 slugging percentage.
• Infielder Andres Matias was named to the All-ASUN Third Team after a breakout season on the left side of the infield. He finished the regular season as one of the biggest contributors in the Govs' lineup. Although his numbers do not jump off the page, his situational hitting ability and small ball approach helped lead the Govs to the season they had by being productive at the bottom of the order. He batted .315 with a .517 slugging and .409 on-base percentage, while blasting eight home runs and tallying 42 RBI.
• First baseman Gus Freeman was named to the All-ASUN Second Team following one of his biggest years in his career this season. The graduate finished the year as one of the best hitters to find his way on base in program history. He had a 43-game reached base safely streak, which tied for the second-longest streak in Austin Peay history. He also set the single-season record with 25 hit-by-pitches in a year, breaking Parker Phillips' (2017-19) 2017 record, where he was hit by a pitch 22 times.
• Infielder Kyler Proctor was named a First Team All-ASUN player after leading the ASUN defensively, with a league-leading 136 assists. He was also a standout player, batting .325 with 13 doubles, two triples, and six home runs, tallying 41 RBI out of the leadoff spot this season.
• Infielder/designated hitter Cole Johnson was named the ASUN Freshman of the year, while also being placed on the All-ASUN First Team and All-Freshman team. Johnson finished the year as one of the best freshmen in the nation, batting .356 with 67 RBI this season. He led all freshmen in the league in multiple offensive categories, and made himself a standout player in not only the league, but also among the mid-major level.
• Infielder Ray Velazquez was named to the All-ASUN First Team after becoming one of the hottest bats in the country after the midway point in the season. Velazquez finished the season with a .377 batting average, a .774 slugging percentage, and a .487 on-base percentage. He was very productive in the middle of the lineup, having 16 multi-RBI performances this season. He drove in a total of 57 RBI and hit 18 home runs. His 14 homers in ASUN play led the league, and he became a standout player at the hot corner after missing the beginning of the season due to an upper-body injury.
• Catcher Trevor Conley was named to the All-ASUN First Team, earning all-conference honors for the first time in his career. Four weeks ago, he was named to the Buster Posey Award Midseason Watch List, and is a prime candidate for the national award after showing his grit over the course of the season. He finished the regular season batting .312 after starting the first two weeks with a .040 batting average. His determination and love for the game and his team helped him climb his way back to the top of the rankings and made him a standout player in the league.

Regular Season Recap

Coach Fanning

For the second-straight season, the third-year head coach was named the league's Coach of the Year following a Gold Division title and the best conference (26-4) and overall record (43-12) in the ASUN. Fanning led the Governors to their second Atlantic Sun Conference regular season title, as this year's team rewrote the record book after becoming the fastest team to reach both the 30 and 40-win marks. He becomes the fourth head coach to lead his team to a 40-win season. The Govs also became the first in program history to win 43 games in a single regular season.

This year's team recorded a program-record nine series sweeps, while also becoming the winningest team in conference play in Austin Peay history. The Governors had the second-fewest losses at home this season after going 26-4 at Raymond C. Hand Park. In addition, this year's team was inside the top five of multiple offensive categories across all Division I teams. The Govs ranked second in the NCAA with a team batting average of .337, fifth with 132 doubles, fifth with 633 hits, fifth with 109 home runs, third with a .448 on-base percentage, second with 543 runs scored, second in scoring with 9.9 runs per game, second with a .598 slugging percentage, and fifth with a .782 win-loss percentage.

Fanning also reached the 100 career wins milestone, becoming the fastest head coach in program history to reach the mark, doing so in just 164 games. The Coalgate, Oklahoma native is the first head coach in program history to be named the league's Coach of the Year in back-to-back seasons. 

All-ASUN Haul

After piecing together one of the best seasons across Division I baseball this season, Austin Peay State University's baseball team set a program record with 14 award winners following the end of the regular season.

Joining Nickens and Johnson on the First Team All-ASUN Team were catcher Trevor Conley, second baseman Kyler Proctor, third baseman Ray Velazquez, and outfielder John Bay. Second team honorees included starting pitcher Gavin Braunecker, starting pitcher Lyndon Glidewell, and first baseman Gus Freeman. The third team included shortstop Andres Matias.

Broadcast Information

Fans unable to attend can listen to the weekend series on ESPN Clarksville 104.1 FM in the Clarksville area or through the TuneIn app on their mobile device.

All games will be streamed on ESPN+.

Follow Along

Keep up to date with all Governors baseball on the official website of Austin Peay Athletics - www.LetsGoPeay.com. Follow @GovsBSB on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for all Governors Baseball updates and ticket information as they happen.