JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (March 23, 2026) – University of North Alabama baseball junior catcher Will Millard won his first-ever Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week award, the league announced Monday.
This award follows Millard's week against Tennessee Tech and Eastern Kentucky. He shares this award with Central Arkansas' Nate Negre.
This is Millard's first career player of the week award during his three-year collegiate tenure.
The O'Fallon, Ill. native led the Lions to a 3-1 week across the diamond with a sweep of conference foe, Eastern Kentucky – one of two weekend sweeps throughout the ASUN. He started behind the dish in all four games where he batted .588 with 10 hits, six runs scored, five RBIs, three doubles and two home runs.
Perhaps the most emphatic moment of the week came against Eastern Kentucky on Friday night.
In the ninth inning against the Colonels, the Lions were down 5-3 with two outs flickering on the scoreboard; Petey Craska stood 90-feet away at third.
Millard saw two balls before a strike was called by the umpire. For the fourth pitch, Millard battered the ball 385-feet into the netting over "Mike's Mountain" in left field to tie the game.
His heroics allowed the Lions to mount the comeback and win in extra innings on Friday night, 7-5. The opening win helped complete the second sweep of the season for UNA.
This is only the third ASUN Player of the Week award for the Lions since the transition to Division I in 2018-19. The first came in 2019 for Reid Homan on April 15 and the second came in 2024 for Gehrig Frei, also on April 15.
This is the seventh ASUN Weekly Award for the team since joining the conference. Under head coach Jad Prachniak's tutelage, this is the second ASUN Player of the Week award during his three-year tenure.
"Will was outstanding for us this weekend," said Prachniak. "Great at bats, game changing swings and was sound defensively behind the plate in four games filled with critical pitches. His overall performance this week is a testament to his preparation and competitive nature."
Millard transferred to North Alabama from Hillsdale College, a Division II school from Hillsdale, Mich. He started 82 games between the two seasons as a Charger from 2024-25.
The junior has split time at catcher while spending time in right field for a couple starts. He has started in 19 games this season and now holds the third-most hits on the team with 24 while owning the best batting average at .343.
The catcher also is the best fielder in the ASUN with his perfect 1.000 fielding percentage and is sixth in caught stealing with four runners.
Millard and the Lions get back to action on Friday, March 27 against Bellarmine in Louisville, Ky. at Knights Field beginning at 2 p.m.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
