BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Delta State University senior left-handed pitcher Adrian Byrd earned Gulf South Conference Pitcher of the Year alongside seven Statesmen earning All-Gulf South Conference and Gold Glove honors announced this morning by the conference office.
 
The All-GSC Teams and individual major award winners for the 2026 baseball season, as determined via a vote of the conference's head coaches.
 
Byrd becomes the second consecutive Statesmen marking the first time that DSU has had back-to-back GSC Pitchers of the Year since the GSC has started awarding the Pitcher of the Year in 2013.
 
The Wiggins native led the Gulf South Conference in several pitching categories. Byrd finished the regular season with a 7-1 record, holding a 1.64 ERA, 91 strikeouts and only allowed 22 free passes. Adrian held opponents to a batting average below the Mendoza line at .193. Byrd also earned first team All-GSC recognition.
 
Joining Byrd in the first team All-GSC list is junior outfielder Tucker Jones. Jones earned first team All-GSC honors after leading the Statesmen with a .360 batting average with 20 extra base-hits and 57 runs driven in. The Brandon native led the GSC on the basepaths stealing  29 bags on 29 attempts.
 
Junior catcher Austin Batts, junior first baseman Levi Lang, and redshirt junior Austin Estes all earned second team All-GSC honors.
 
Batts has been swinging a hot bat down the stretch in the 2026 season. The Cleveland native holds a .319 batting average with seven doubles and 19 runs driven in.
 
Lang has provided power for the Statesmen in the middle of the lineup this season. The Judsonia, Ark., native held a .348 batting average with seven doubles and eight home runs with 41 RBIs, holding a .557 slugging percentage.

Estes has held his spot as the nine hole hitter and playing right field for DSU in his redshirt junior season. The Piedmont, Ala., native held a .353 batting average with seven doubles, and 26 runs driven in. On the basepaths, Estes has stolen 14 bags. Estes scored the most runs on the team with 46.  
 
Junior second baseman Henley Parker, and senior centerfielder Cade Greer are the two Statesmen who made the GSC Gold Glove team.
 
Parker played 29 games for DSU and started in 25 of them, holding a .973 fielding percentage with 58 assists and 49 putouts. The Jackson, Mo., native turned 12 double plays at second base.
 
Greer covered a lot of ground in centerfield in the 2026 season. The Lewisburg native played in all 46 games where he had 105 putouts and an assist, posting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.
 
The Statesmen open postseason play in the Gulf South Conference for the 41^st time in program history as they will take on the Chargers from UAH tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. (CT) in Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala.