Late in the decade, the Southwestern baseball program showed signs of a resurgence with consecutive SCAC Tournament appearances, an All-American, multiple All-Region selections, and a SCAC Pitcher of the Year.
From 2011-2020, Southwestern baseball put forth two All-Americans, six All-Region seasons, one SCAC Player of the Year and SCAC Pitcher of the Year, and 47 All-SCAC selections. From that list, Southwestern presents its Baseball All-Decade Team. To be considered, players must have played at least two seasons at Southwestern and earned two all-conference honors.
Will Cates | Outfielder | 2013-2016 | Player of the Decade
Cates was the most prolific offensive player of the past decade, hitting a two-year peak that holds its own among the best in Southwestern baseball's storied history. The Pirates' centerfielder was a two-time All-SCAC First Team selection, winning the 2015 SCAC Player of the Year after leading the conference in runs scored (51), stolen bases (31), and triples (8). He finished that season with a .633 slugging percentage, hitting .391 (66-for-169) with 36 RBIs, 5 home runs, and 29 walks for a .425 on-base percentage, earning D3baseball.com All-America Honorable Mention and All-West Region First Team.
He was named to the 2016 Preseason All-America Second Team and had another productive season, finishing with a .676 slugging percentage, batting .388 (66-for-170) with 11 doubles, 7 triples, and 8 home runs, producing 26 RBIs and 45 runs scored to earn All-West Region First Team.
For his career, he hit .342 (167-for-488) with 25 doubles, 17 triples, and 15 home runs for 83 RBIs. He drew 35 walks and had 71 stolen bases.
Byron Dowdell II | Outfielder | 2017-2020
Dowdell earned All-SCAC honors in two of the three seasons he was eligible for, with his senior season getting canceled due to the pandemic. In his sophomore season, he hit .295 (43-for-146) with a .373 on-base percentage, scoring 30 runs with 15 doubles, 3 triples, and 2 home runs, knocking in 33 RBIs to earn All-SCAC Second Team honors.
His junior season was a breakthrough year, hitting .320 (55-for-172) with a .547 slugging percentage, tying teammate Daniel Montgomery for the SCAC lead in home runs during the regular season with 9. He had 10 doubles and a triple with 47 RBIs, earning All-SCAC First Team and both ABCA and D3Baseball.com West All-Region Third Team.
He finished his career with 138 hits, 15 home runs, and 113 RBIs with two SCAC postseason appearances.
Ben Little | Outfielder | 2014-2017
Little was a two-time All-SCAC Honorable Mention utility player for the Pirates. He had a strong senior season, hitting .364 (64-for-176) with 8 doubles, 7 triples, 4 home runs, and 32 RBIs for a .557 slugging percentage to earn ABCA All-West Region Second Team honors.
He finished his career with 176 hits and 100 runs scored, getting 26 doubles, 12 triples, and 6 home runs for 90 RBIs. He drew 43 walks and stole 31 bases.
Daniel Montgomery Jr. | Infielder | 2017-2021
Montgomery is a two-time All-SCAC utility player for the Pirates, having played multiple positions, including a few stints on the pitcher's mound. As a first-year, he earned All-SCAC Honorable Mention with a .346 batting average (37-for-107), hitting 8 doubles, a triple, and 2 home runs with 22 runs scored and 19 RBIs.
He had a breakout year for the Pirates in 2019, leading the SCAC in runs scored (48), triples (4), and home runs (9); finishing second in doubles (15), total bases (110), on-base percentage (.485), and slugging percentage (.667); third in hits (60) and RBIs (45); and fourth in batting average (.364). His career season earned him D3Baseball.com All-America Second Team and West All-Region First team, ABCA West All-Region Second Team, and All-SCAC First Team.
Seth Sparks | Infielder | 2018-2021
Sparks opened his career with a strong first season, hitting .311 (51-for-164) with a .378 on-base percentage and .360 slugging percentage, scoring 25 runs and 25 RBIs to earn All-SCAC First Team and ABCA All-Region Third Team honors.
He followed that up with a solid sophomore effort, hitting .333 (56-for-168) with 28 RBIs, 25 runs scored, 8 doubles, a triple, and 12 walks to earn All-SCAC Second Team honors. Prior to the 2020 season's cancelation, Sparks was hitting .356 (16-for-45) with 6 runs scored, 3 doubles, and 12 RBIs in 13 games for a .422 slugging percentage.
Austyn Laird | Infielder | 2015-2017
Laird is a two-time All-SCAC Second Team selection for the Pirates, earning one each at two different positions. In his first season, Laird manned third base for the Pirates and hit .265 (30-for-113) with 26 runs scored and 6 home runs, including a memorable walk-off two-run blast for a 12-11 win over Trinity. In his second season, he hit .252 (36-for-143) with 29 runs scored and 24 RBIs while playing shortstop.
Cole Kelly | Infielder | 2016-2019
Kelly is a two-time All-SCAC selection at first base for the Pirates, earning Honorable Mention in 2018 and Second Team in 2019. He hit over .300 with more than 30 RBIs in each of his last two seasons, helping to lead the Pirates to consecutive SCAC Tournament appearances.
As a junior, he hit .300 (42-for-140) with 12 doubles, 2 triples, and a home run for 30 RBIs and 21 runs scored. In his senior season, he hit .304 (45-for-148) with a .554 slugging percentage, hitting 17 doubles, a triple, and 6 home runs for 35 RBIs and 36 runs scored. He also had 35 walks with a .431 on-base percentage.
Austin Smith | Pitcher | 2018-2020
Originally recruited as a full-time position player with only a handful of games experience on the mound, Smith quickly became the dominant pitcher in the SCAC. As a first-year, Smith earned All-SCAC Honorable Mention splitting his time between the mound and third base with 11 pitching appearances, including 6 starts. He finished with 55 strikeouts in 47.1 innings pitched for a 4-1 record with a save.
He took a major leap his sophomore season, pushing his fastball into the upper 90s and finishing the season with a 7-2 record, pitching five complete games and picking up victories over two of the 10 best teams in the nation in consecutive weekends in games against Trinity and Texas Lutheran. Smith led the SCAC in strikeouts (100), complete games, shutouts (2), and strikeouts per nine innings (12.56) to win the SCAC Pitcher of the Year award, All-SCAC First Team, ABCA West All-Region Second Team, and D3Baseball.com West All-Region Third Team honors.
Colby Schmidt | Catcher | 2016-2019
Schmidt earned three All-SCAC Honorable Mention selections behind the plate and was named to the 2019 SCAC All-Tournament Team. In his peak 2017 season, he set career highs in hits (46), batting average (.293), on-base percentage (.396), slugging percentage (.433), runs (37), and doubles (13). In his senior year, he hit .274 (34-for-146) with 34 runs scored and a career-high 40 RBIs.
Ethan Luna | Designated Hitter | 2014-2016
Luna is a two-time All-SCAC selection and career .331 hitter (88-for-266). In 2015, Luna earned All-SCAC Second Team with a .330 batting average (29-for-88), 8 doubles, and 2 home runs for 12 RBIs and 11 runs scored. In his final season, Luna led the team with 39 RBIs on a .338 batting average, recording 9 doubles and 4 home runs to earn All-SCAC Honorable Mention. He finished his career with 88 hits, 7 home runs, 61 RBIs, and 40 runs scored in three seasons.