CHARLESTON, SC -- Furman shortstop A.J. Davidiuk, the 2006 Southern Conference Player of the Year, and College of Charleston’s Nick Chigges, the league’s Pitcher of the Year, highlight the 13-player first-team all-conference team that was announced today in conjunction with the conference’s tournament.

Elon’s Mike Kennedy was tabbed the SoCon’s Coach of the Year, while Phoenix pitcher Steven Hensley garnered Freshman of the Year accolades.

Davidiuk is the first Paladin to earn Player of the Year plaudits.  The senior from Indian Trail, NC ranked second on Furman and fourth overall in hitting with a .372 batting average, while hitting a team-high 11 home runs and driving in 47 runs.  Davidiuk also ranked fifth in the league in on-base percentage (.457) and sixth in slugging percentage (.613).

Chigges is the third consecutive Cougar to grab the league’s top pitching honor.  The junior led the conference at the end of the regular season with a 1.58 ERA to go with a 9-1 overall record and a league-low .216 opponents batting average.  In league-only games, the right-handed pitcher from Columbia, SC was 7-0 with a 1.74 ERA.

Kennedy directed the Phoenix to a school-record 42 wins during the regular season and guided the school to its first-ever league championship with a 21-5 conference mark.  Elon recorded three win streaks of six games or better, including a pair of eight-game streaks in the final six weeks of the season.

Hensley sported a 6-3 overall record with 89 strikeouts in 88.1 innings pitched.  A native of Asheville, NC fanned a career-high 13 batters in a complete game win over Wofford Apr. 9.  After dropping his first three decisions in non-conference play, Hensley was 6-0 with a 2.90 ERA in league action.

The College of Charleston placed a league-high six players on the two teams, two on the first and four second-team selections.  Elon added four all-conference picks -- two on each of the squads -- while Davidson, Furman and Western Carolina each had three all-SoCon mentions.

The complete all-conference team is as follows:

2006 All-Southern Conference Coaches Team 

FIRST TEAM

P - Nick Chigges, College of Charleston

P - Everett Teaford, Georgia Southern

RP - Josh McLaughlin, College of Charleston

C - Tony Maccani, Furman

1B - Greg Dowling, Georgia Southern

2B - Ronnie Shore, Davidson

SS - A.J. Davidiuk, Furman

3B - Jonathan Greene, Western Carolina

OF - Chris Swauger, The Citadel

OF - Chris Price, Elon

OF - Jermaine Mitchell, UNC Greensboro (tie)

OF - Steven Strausbaugh, Western Carolina (tie)

DH - Robert Rodebaugh, Elon

SECOND TEAM

P - Danny Meszaros, College of Charleston

P - Matt Chastain, Elon

RP - Patrick Currin, UNC Greensboro

C - Blake Murphy, Western Carolina

1B - Case Cassedy, Furman

2B - Chris Campbell, College of Charleston

SS - Jay Heafner, Davidson

3B - Jess Easterling, College of Charleston

OF - Philip Coker, College of Charleston

OF - Grant Rembert, Elon

OF - Gregory Zage, Davidson

DH - Sonny Meade, The Citadel

Player of the Year - A.J. Davidiuk, Furman

Pitcher of the Year - Nick Chigges, College of Charleston

Freshman of the Year - Steven Hensley, Elon

Coach of the Year - Mike Kennedy, Elon