SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Preston Hatcher, a senior pitcher on the Western Carolina baseball team, has been named the Southern Conference Student-Athlete of the Week for April 24, the league office announced today.
Last week, Catamount closer Preston Hatcher made four appearances as Western Carolina went 5-0, defeating Gardner-Webb and Kennesaw State in mid-week action and sweeping Georgia Southern to move atop the SoCon standings. In his four appearances, Hatcher secured a victory and three saves, scattering three hits through five and a third innings pitched without allowing a run. Hatcher limited opposing hitters to a .167 batting average against, working around two walks with five strikeouts.
With his three saves, Hatcher has moved into sole possession of second place on both WCU’s single-season and career saves charts. The Atlanta, Ga., native has 11 saves this year to rank tied atop the SoCon rankings and has 21 career saves, just one shy of WCU’s career benchmark.
A two-time SoCon Spring Academic All-Conference selection, Hatcher is on the ballot for baseball’s CoSIDA Academic All-America with All-District voting currently underway. A preseason All-America selection, he was additionally named to the first mid-season National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year watch list.
The accounting major currently holds a 3.51 GPA.
Also nominated were Appalachian State track’s Stanley Broaden, The Citadel baseball’s Hughston Armstrong, Davidson track’s Demetrios Pagonis, Furman track’s Sinead Haughey and UNCG golf’s Courtney Taylor.
Southern Conference Student-Athlete of the Week
Sept. 5: Christina Dorismond, Volleyball, Furman
Sept. 12: Nathan Wanuch, Cross Country, Chattanooga
Sept. 19: Carson Smith, Football, The Citadel
Sept. 26: Kate Van Dyke, Volleyball, Georgia Southern
Oct. 3: Lauren Hein, Women’s Soccer, UNCG
Oct. 10: Julia Singley, Women’s Soccer, Davidson
Oct. 17: Rachel Woodlee, Volleyball, Wofford
Oct. 24: Laura Greb, Women’s Soccer, Western Carolina
Oct. 31: Paul Chelimo, Cross Country, UNCG
Nov. 7: Clark Sechrest, Football, Western Carolina
Nov. 14: Moriah Bellissimo, Volleyball, Georgia Southern
Nov. 21: Christina Dorismond, Volleyball, Furman
Nov. 28: Kayla Christopher, Women’s Basketball, Chattanooga
Dec. 5: Courtney Freeman, Women’s Basketball, Appalachian State
Dec. 12: Aaron Hansen, Wrestling , The Citadel
Dec. 19: Nick Soto, Wrestling, Chattanooga
Jan. 9: Kelsey Evans, Women’s Basketball, Elon
Jan. 16: Nate Healy, Men’s Basketball, Appalachian State
Jan. 23: Anna Claire Knight, Women’s Basketball, Georgia Southern
Jan. 30: Brites Moniz-Soares, Women’s Tennis, Davidson
Feb. 6: Makensey Campbell, Women’s Basketball, Western Carolina
Feb. 13: JP Kuhlman, Men’s Basketball, Davidson
Feb. 20: Jamie Nunn, Baseball, Appalachian State
Feb. 27: Stanley Broaden, Men’s Track, Appalachian State
Mar. 6: Anna Claire Knight, Women’s Basketball, Georgia Southern
Mar. 13: JP Kuhlman, Men’s Basketball, Davidson
Mar. 21: Demetrios Pagonis, Men’s Track, Davidson
Mar. 27: Jesse Morris, Baseball, Wofford
Apr. 3: Amanda Hamilton, Women’s Track, Appalachian State
Apr. 10: Gabe Dimock, Baseball, Appalachian State
Apr. 17: Presley Parkes, Women’s Track, Davidson
Apr. 24: Preston Hatcher, Baseball, Western Carolina