AUGUSTA, GA -- The Peach Belt Conference has released the 2025 baseball All-Conference team. North Georgia claimed three of the five major awards as Andrews Opata was named the Player of the Year, Nicholas Stinson the Freshman of the Year and Tom Cantrell the Coach of the Year. Georgia College & State University's Bradley Wilson was named the Pitcher of the Year and Taichi Nakao of Lander the winner of the Elite 18 Award.

All major awards are presented by College Ave with the exception of the Elite 18 which is presented by Barnes & Noble College.

Opata had an outstanding season for the Nighthawks. The junior center fielder from Lawrenceville, Ga., hit .394 with 11 home runs and 59 RBIs. He led the Peach Belt in base hits and runs scored and was ranked in the league's top five in batting average, OPS, RBIs and home runs. He also led the league and is tied for 15th in NCAA Division II with 33 stolen bases and was never caught in 33 attempts. Opata becomes the third Nighthawk to be named the PBC Player of the Year, the first since Crews Taylor in 2022.

Wilson went 9-1 this season with a 2.02 ERA in 80.1 innings of work. The senior righty from Irwinton, Ga., is ranked 13th in NCAA Division II in ERA and is tied for the league lead in wins and leads the conference in ERA. In conference games, he was even more impressive, lowering his ERA to 1.35 and going 8-0 against league opponents. Named the PBC Pitcher of the Week twice during the season, he threw two complete games and was a part of two shutouts. Wilson becomes the fourth Bobcat to be named the Pitcher of the Year, the first since Charlie Hecht in 2018.

Stinson made 41 starts in his first collegiate year at DH, hitting .366 with three home runs and 44 RBIs. A native of Kennesaw, Ga., the first-team All-Conference selection was named the PBC Freshman of the Week four times this year and is ranked eighth in the PBC in batting average and fourth with 17 doubles. In conference games, he is ranked in the league's top 10 in runs, hits, RBIs and doubles. Stinson is the third UNG player to be named the Freshman of the Year, the first since Connor Hoover in 2015.

In February, Tom Cantrell announced that the 2025 season would be his last as a head coach. His 26th and final season with the Nighthawks is one of his most impressive as UNG won a share of the PBC regular-season championship, are the #1 seed for the PBC Tournament and are ranked #13 in the nation by the ABCA. Cantrell has coached the last 19 years in the Peach Belt and sits at 621 career wins as a part of the conference, currently sixth-most in league history. Cantrell wins the PBC Coach of the Year honor for the fifth time, tied for the most in conference history.

The All-Conference team is listed below as selected by the league's head coaches. Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.

2025 Peach Belt Baseball
All-Conference Team

First Team
1b - Braeden Smith, Georgia College & State University
2b - Cory Lee, Georgia Southwestern
3b - Parker Ingram, Augusta
SS - Ben Hamacher, Georgia College & State University
C - David Hernandez, Georgia Southwestern
DH - Nicholas Stinson, North Georgia
UT - Evan Wickeri, Lander
UT - Eli Maddox, Flagler
OF - Jack Hobson, USC Aiken
OF - Andrews Opata, North Georgia
OF - Josh Sharp, USC Aiken
OF - Grant Sherrod, Lander
SP - Andrew Geiger, Georgia Southwestern
SP - Dominic Puccetti, Lander
SP - Ben Stubbs, Flagler
SP - Bradley Wilson, Georgia College & State University
RP - Ethan Bobo, Flagler

Second Team
1b - Phillip Ard, North Georgia
2b - Gabe Weurth, Georgia College & State University
3b - George Davis, Georgia Southwestern
SS - Jace Bowen, North Georgia
C - Mike Morrison, Augusta
DH - Connor Droze, Lander
OF - Garrett Chun, Lander
OF - Evan Cowan, Georgia College & State University
OF - Cole Eison, Columbus State
OF - Carson Weathers, USC Beaufort
SP - Mason Brown, Georgia College & State University
SP - Luke Earnhardt, North Georgia
SP - James Fordham, Georgia Southwestern
SP - Pierce Williams, North Georgia
RP - Tyler Bowen, Lander

Elite 18 Award presented by Barnes & Noble College
Taichi Nakao, Lander

Player of the Year presented by College Ave
Andrews Opata, North Georgia

Pitcher of the Year presented by College Ave
Bradley Wilson, Georgia College & State University

Freshman of the Year presented by College Ave
Nicholas Stinson, North Georgia

Coach of theYear presented by College Ave
Tom Cantrell, North Georgia