JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (May 18, 2025) – University of North Alabama baseball players Nash Rippen, Dylan Coleman, Will Millard, Petey Craska, Jackson Westmoreland and Wes Walker were honored with postseason awards from the Atlantic Sun Conference on Monday.
The Lions had two ASUN First Team All-Conference selections in left fielder Nash Rippen and designated hitter Dylan Coleman. North Alabama has never had an ASUN First Team selection since joining the conference in 2019.
Catcher Will Millard earned ASUN Second Team All-Conference honors in his first year in Florence. Middle infielder Jackson Westmoreland, right fielder Wes Walker and first baseman Petey Craska were all highlighted as ASUN Third Team All-Conference members.
All six players were selected to these teams in a vote of the league's head coaches.
This comes after a historic 28-win season that saw North Alabama win a share of the ASUN Gold Division title.
Since 2019, the Lions have had five players named to all-conference teams in Luke Harper (2022), Jacob James (2024), Gehrig Frei (2024), Matthew Delgado (2025) and Craska (2025). Three players have been named to All-Freshman team in Frei (2023), Craska (2025) and Luke Davenport (2025).
The selections are made up of three second-year Lions and three first-year transfers.
Rippen is perhaps one of the most improved players across the nation, let alone the ASUN. In 2025, Rippen hit .219 with 37 hits, 24 RBIs and eight home runs over the entire season. This year, he is hitting .318 with 61 hits, 50 RBIs and 17 home runs. He sits in third for on-base plus slugging (1.104), fourth for slugging percentage (.646) and fifth for on-base percentage (.458) in the ASUN. He is the clubhouse leader for doubles, home runs, total bases and walks.
After an offseason of hard work, Rippeb returned with a plate presence of patience which led him to leading the conference in walks (46) — which tied the North Alabama Division I record for walks in a season. His plate presence also led him to a league high 17 home runs, which so happened to break the North Alabama Division I record. Rippen has been the catalyst behind the home run brigade this season, as he tied the all-time record set back in 1989 for home runs in a season.
"Nash Rippen has always had the ability to change the game with one swing," said Prachniak. "He has taken his game to another level this year his ability to hit for power, get on base and his play as high level outfielder makes him one of the most dynamic players in our league."
Not only is he one of the most feared hitters…Rippen also has one of the best gloves in left field. He has the 58th most chances in the ASUN with 116 while in the field while owning a .983 fielding percentage. Rippen is an extra-bag eliminator for his pitchers as he has thrown out several players trying to create double or triple-bag opportunities.
Dylan Coleman is a first-year transfer from Delta State who took Florence by storm. Coleman led the charge in home runs for most of the season, as he helped lead the way to breaking the Division I record in a season with 16. He had three games with two or more home runs — the only Lion to have such games.
The designated hitter led the Lions in runs, hits, RBIs and second in home runs on the team. Coleman had eight home runs in the month of April and had four straight games with a home run at the end of April. The designated hitter was also named ASUN Player of the Week after his heroics in a Central Arkansas series win. He finished the season in fourth in the ASUN for RBIs (53), fourth in home runs (16) and fifth in runs scored (51).
"Dylan Coleman made his impact felt as soon as he got on campus," said Prachniak. "His presence in the order and overall makeup helped to elevate our program this year."
Millard is a first-year transfer catcher that was plug and play from the beginning. Millard had big shoes to fill after the departure of Second Team All-ASUN selection Matthew Delgado a season ago. Millard did just that as he has started and played in 47 games this season and slashed .320/.567/.435 for the best batting average for a UNA hitter.
Millard has 10 home runs on the season — best for fifth on the team. Seven of those 10 home runs have been hit to tie or take the lead in pivotal points of games. He slugged 1.118 with a .632 on-base percentage with his 10 hits, leading him to be named ASUN Player of the Week after his heroics against Eastern Kentucky.
The catcher was a brick wall behind the dish with 358 chances to go along with 317 putouts on the year and 38 assists for an impeccable .992 fielding percentage. He's 10th in putouts in the ASUN and second with 13 runners thrown out.
"Will Millard has a been a steady force for us all year," said Prachniak. "He has had great at-bats all year, clutch swings when we need them the most all while leading our pitching staff behind the plate. He definitely had an impressive first year with us."
Craska, a captain of the 2026 team, earns back-to-back selections to an all-conference team — the first time that a Lion has accomplished the feat during the Division I era.
Craska was prolific yet again in his sophomore campaign for the Lions while he manned first base. In year two, he elevated his runs, triples, home runs, RBIs and had less strikeouts than last season. He slashed .280/.543/.442 in 2026 while starting in 52 games. When it came to conference play, Craska elevated his game with a .303 batting average, .624 slugging percentage and .469 on-base percentage while also having an OPS of 1.093.
Against Bellarmine on May 1, Craska had three home runs in a game which tied the UNA all-time mark set in 1986 by Eddie Serrano; this broke the Division I record.
"Petey Craska is the heartbeat of our team," said head coach Jad Prachinak. "He is a high-level baseball player who prioritizes winning at all times. Petey has been in the middle of some of our biggest moments this year."
Westmoreland was a middle infield menace in his first year with the Lions. He went from only 22 starts in the past two years elsewhere to now starting 45 games at UNA in 2026. He is the table setter as the lead-off man, hitting .309 with 58 hits this season and 20 RBIs — when it comes to conference play, he upped his game to .315 at the plate.
On the week of April 21, Westmoreland had a pair of four-hit games with one against Tennessee Tech and one against Eastern Kentucky; this was the first time ever in his career that he had a a four-hit game — those four hits tied for an individual game high in 2026. Westmoreland has had 202 chances in the field and has 90 putouts on the year with 102 assists — the second most on the team. He has turned 17 double-plays — also the second most on the team.
"Jackson Westmoreland…players nicknamed him "Baseball Westy" because he pours everything into being the best baseball player and teammate he can be," said Prachniak. "He has been a versatile infielder for us who has been a catalyst as our leadoff hitter."
A catcher turned right fielder in the early portion of the season, Walker's switch-hitting ability could not be kept off the field. Walker, competing as a right fielder for the first time at the collegiate level, has become a big-time bat in the lineup and a staple glove in right.
Walker leads the Lions in conference play with 10 of his 13 home runs coming against ASUN opponents. He hits .319 in conference play with an OPS of 1.058 in said games — the third best on the team. Walker is tied for fourth in RBIs with 53, tied for sixth in home runs with 13 and ninth in slugging at .592 in the ASUN; Walker's 53 RBIs is a Division I single season record for UNA. Walker has battled Nash Rippen during conference play for best UNA hitter as he leads in metrics such as home runs, RBIs and slugging when facing ASUN opponents.
From April 24 to May 2, Walker had a home run in five straight games — another North Alabama best. During that stretch against EKU on April 26, he went 4-for-5 with two home runs in the same game, one which was right-handed and one which was left-handed. Defensively, in 143 chances, he has 123 putouts with 14 assists for a .958 fielding clip; he has turned six double plays and caught a runner stealing, as well.
"Wes Walker has stepped up in every way this year," said Prachniak. "His versatility to get starts as a catcher, transition to the outfield and play some first base while putting up the offensive numbers he did, speaks to how talented he is."
Through conference play, these six have led the Lions to the third-best hitting offense (.297) and helped UNA break the North Alabama all-time home run record with 82 — a record that previously stood for 27 years. Their play from the plate has elevated the Lions from 10th in 2025 to fifth in 2026.
Their play elevated UNA to the second-best fielding percentage in the ASUN at .974. This would stand as a Division I program record.
The group led the Lions to their most wins in a season at the Division I level (28) and the most conference wins (19). These six were integral to the Lions winning a share of the ASUN Gold Division Title — the first time the Lions have won a division or regular season title since 2005.
"Our depth as a team has been a strength for us all year, well deserved recognition for this group," said Prachniak. "This group has put up big numbers, but they all make the team success the focal point."
The six all-conference selections are back in action on Wednesday, May 20 at 1 p.m. at Melching Field at Conrad Park in DeLand, Fla. against the winner of No. 5 Jacksonville and No. 8 Austin Peay.
2026 ASUN Baseball Postseason Awards
Player of the Year: Jon Embury, FGCU
Defensive Player of the Year: Sammy Mummau, Jacksonville
Pitcher of the Year: Evan Dempsey, FGCU
Freshman of the Year: Khaleel Pratt, EKU
Coach of the Year: Joe Mercadante, North Florida
First Team All-ASUN
Evan Dempsey SP FGCU
Dakota Stone SP North Florida
Denver Hamilton SP Central Arkansas
Hunter Alexander RP Central Arkansas
Jon Embury C FGCU
AJ Swader 1B Bellarmine
Roger Vergara 2B Jacksonville
Javier Gorostola 3B FGCU
Landon Akers SS Bellarmine
Evan Dempsey OF FGCU
Zeb Allen OF Central Arkansas
Nash Rippen OF North Alabama
Dylan Coleman DH North Alabama
Second Team All-ASUN
Brendan Holland SP Jacksonville
Hunter Possehl SP Central Arkansas
Chris Diaz SP FGCU
Kaleb Kantola RP Lipscomb
Will Millard C North Alabama
Jaret Nelson 1B FGCU
Brady Miller 2B Lipscomb
Cam Pruitt 3B Lipscomb
Matthew Farner SS North Florida
Miles Hutson OF Lipscomb
David Alvarez OF EKU
Jordan Thomas OF Lipscomb
Boone Hosey DH North Florida
Third Team All-ASUN
Joey Ruller SP Queens
Jacob Price SP EKU
Alex Walsh SP Jacksonville
Ashton Pocol RP FGCU
Conner Spelman C Jacksonville
Petey Craska 1B North Alabama
Jackson Westmoreland 2B North Alabama
Patrick McCullough 3B West Georgia
Ray Velazquez 3B Austin Peay
Pedro Moreno SS EKU
Wes Walker OF North Alabama
Khaleel Pratt OF EKU
Gialdri Gomez OF North Florida
Yohann Dessureault DH Stetson
*a tie in voting resulted in a 14-person Third Team All-ASUN
All-Freshman Team
Khaleel Pratt, EKU
Jake Bell, Bellarmine
Cole Huett, Bellarmine
Mark Ross, Central Arkansas
Dylan Littlefield, EKU
Logan Baratta, Jacksonville
Kyle Hopper, Jacksonville
Ayden Phillips, Jacksonville
Cade Walter, Jacksonville
Cole Pippenger, Lipscomb
Sean Benjamin, North Florida
Devin Diggs, North Florida
Samuel Fernandez, Stetson
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