Clarksville, Ark.- 11 University of the Ozarks baseball players were honored by the American Southwest Conference, it was announced Monday (May 17) following a vote of the league's head coaches.

Senior catcher Erick Aguirre and junior second baseman Ben Cross were named to the All-ASC First Team. Junior third baseman Luke Morrison, junior outfielder Rey Lozano and junior pitcher Blake Benson were named to the All-ASC Second Team. Junior pitcher Dylan Kuester was named to the All-ASC Third Team. Sophomore first baseman Trey Vance, senior short stop Josh Stephens, sophomore outfielder Rennie Arjona, junior pitcher Zachary Brizendine and senior pitcher Kris Sloan were named All-ASC Honorable Mention. Additionally, Lozano was named Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year. 

Aguirre, a native Hot Springs, hit .362 with nine doubles, four home runs and 17 RBI. Aguirre posted a .562 slugging percentage that included 38 hits. He owned a .973 fielding percentage behind the plate. He was a threat on the base paths as he stole ten bags. He led the team in hit by pitches with six. He also recorded 30 runs. He threw out 14 runners attempting to steal bases for a .264 runner caught stealing percentage. He had 11 multiple-hit games. He went 5-for-5 against Sul Ross State and had three hits with three RBI against LeTourneau. He scored two or more runs against nine different opponents.

Cross, a native of Sherman, Texas, hit .387 with a team-leading five home runs, 32 runs, 11 steals, 73 total bases and .613 slugging percentage. Cross finished second on the team in batting, RBI (25), on-base percentage (.451) and doubles (10). He tied for the team lead in hits (46), triples (1) and walks (14). He owned a .979 fielding percentage. He had 15 multiple-hit games and hit safely in 22 games. He recorded five three-hit games. He scored at least two runs seven times. He went 4-for-4 with two home runs against East Texas Baptist. In the final game of the season against Louisiana College, Cross went 4-for-4 with a triple, home run, four runs and three RBI. His batting average ranked among the ASC's top-10. Cross was named to the ASC All-Tournament Team after collecting eight hits in three games. He was named ASC Hitter of the Week once during the season.

Morrison, a native of Tucson, Ariz., ranked third in the ASC in RBI with 41 and triples with four. He finished the season hitting .333 with 35 hits, three doubles, four home runs and a .552 slugging percentage. Morrison recorded 58 total bases and five steals. Morrison opened the season with a five-game hit streak and later had a six-game streak mid-season. He ended the season hitting safely in 19 games and powered two grand slams. He had four or more RBI in four games. He had 11 multiple-hit games. He had five three-hit games. He went 3-for-5 with five RBI against UT Dallas. In the series against Sul Ross State, he totaled eight hits and eight RBI. He was named ASC Hitter of the Week once during the season.

Lozano, a native of Lavaca, won the league batting title with a .438 average. He is the first Ozarks' player to win the batting title since 2013. Lozano also led the team with 12 doubles and on-base percentage (.487) and tied for the team lead in hits with 46. Lozano posted a .581 slugging percentage with 61 total bases and one home run. He drove in 18 runs and scored 23. He owned a 1.000 fielding percentage. He opened the season with a 15-game hit streak. He had 14 multiple-hit games and hit safely in 24 games. He recorded three or more hits five times. Against Louisiana College, he went 5-for-5 with four RBI and three runs. In the post-season game against East Texas Baptist, he went 4-for-4. He tied a conference record with eight at-bats against Howard Payne.

Benson, a native of Springdale, led the pitching staff with a 3.42 ERA while posting a 2-2 record in nine appearances. He ranked second on the staff with 44.2 innings and 33 strikeouts. In eight starts, he had two complete games and one shutout. He threw a complete game with four hits, no earned runs and six strikeouts against Louisiana College in the playoffs. He fanned six in his first start of the season against Austin College. He followed that performance with one earned run against Sul Ross State in 7.0 innings. Against Louisiana College in the regular season, he did not allow an earned run in 8.0 innings. 

Kuester, a native of Coweta, Okla., led the staff with 11 starts, three complete games, 65.2 innings, 55 strikeouts and wins (5). He posted one shutout to go along with a 4.93 ERA. He earned national recognition in March when he tossed a two-hitter in 9.0 innings against Howard Payne. He fanned 11 and did not allow a run while issuing just one walk in that game. He followed that with another two-hitter in his next appearance. In his first four appearances, he allowed only three combined earned runs and struck out 25. He struck out nine against Louisiana College. 

Vance, a native of Fayetteville, hit .315 with seven doubles, 19 RBI and 35 hits. Vance also owned a .987 fielding percentage. He recorded 10 multiple-hit games and hit safely in 22 games. He owned a six-game hit streak during the season. He went 3-for-3 against East Texas Baptist.

Stephens, a native of Springdale, started in 30 games and drove in 13 runs while recording three doubles. Stephens owned a .947 fielding percentage. He had a pair of back-to-back two-hit games against Concordia.

Arjona, a native of Panama, hit .310 with 29 runs and 10 RBI. Arjona recorded 40 hits, stole eight bases and had 42 total bases. He owned a 1.000 fielding percentage. He opened the season with a 12-game hit streak. He had 11 multiple-hit games during the season. He went 3-for-5 with three runs against Sul Ross State. He tied a conference record with eight at-bats against Howard Payne. He scored two or more runs six times. 

Brizendine, a native of Roanoke, Texas, went 2-0 in 26.2 innings of work. Brizendine struck out 17 in 12 appearances. He owned a 5.40 ERA. He tossed 3.1 innings and did not allow a hit and struck out five against LeTourneau. He allowed just one earned run in three of his outings.  He struck out three in 2.0 innings against Howard Payne.

Sloan, a native of Dayton, Texas, was the conference leader and team leader in saves (6). He tossed 18.2 innings as the team's closer. He fanned a combined 15 in his first four outings. He struck out five in 2.0 innings against Nebraska Wesleyan. He did not allow a hit in four of his relief appearances. He did not allow a run in six appearances. Sloan was named ASC Pitcher of the Week twice.
    
Under head coach Aaron Gentry, the Eagles qualified for the playoffs in 2021.