RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) baseball team learned on Wednesday that the Vaqueros have earned a Southland Conference-high 13 all-conference honors, led by sophomore
Armani Raygoza, the Southland Conference Player of the Year, and junior Los Fresnos alum
Víctor Loa, the Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year.
Raygoza and Loa are also first team all-conference selections at designated hitter and starting pitcher, respectively. They are joined on the first team by senior catcher
Steven Lancia and sophomore third baseman
Easton Moomau. UTRGV is tied with Southeastern for the most players on the first team with four.
UTRGV also has three players on the second team, tied for the conference-lead with Southeastern, including graduate student Vela alum shortstop
Isaac Lopez, graduate student PSJA alum first baseman
Jacob Sanchez, and junior second baseman
Thomas Williams.
UTRGV placed a conference-best four players on the all-defensive team, led by Lancia, Lopez, Moomau, and Williams.
Armani Raygoza
Raygoza is hitting .387/.478/.706 with 15 home runs, 17 doubles, 55 RBI, 43 runs scored and two stolen bases in 49 games, including 47 starts at designated hitter and two at first base.
Raygoza ranks 33
rd in the NCAA and second in the SLC in total bases (137), 36
th in the NCAA and first in the SLC in hits per game (1.53), 36
th in the NCAA and second in the SLC in hits (75), 41
st in the NCAA and second in the SLC in hitting (.387), 42
nd in the NCAA and first in the SLC in slugging (.706), 71
st in the NCAA and first in the SLC in home runs (15), 74
th in the NCAA and third in the SLC in doubles (17), 81
st in the NCAA and first in the SLC in home runs per game (0.31), 94
th in the NCAA and second in the SLC in RBI (55), 104
th in the NCAA and third in the SLC in on-base percentage (.478), 105
th in the NCAA and fourth in the SLC in doubles per game (0.35), and 108
th in the NCAA and second in the SLC in RBI per game (1.12).
Raygoza is having one of the top individual seasons in program history, as he ranks fifth in home runs (15), seventh in total bases (137), tied for eighth in doubles (17), tied for 10
th in RBI (55), and 13
th in hits (75). He also has 21 home runs over the last two years, tied for the fourth-highest career total in program history.
Víctor Loa
One of 54 pitchers in NCAA Division I on the Pitcher of the Year Award Watch List, Loa is 5-1 with a 3.02 ERA. In 12 starts, he has pitched 53.2 innings, striking out 51 while allowing just 38 hits and 33 walks. Opponents are batting .198 off Loa, who has allowed just one hit in three starts and two hits in two starts. That means in five of his 12 starts, Loa has held opponents to two hits or less.
After missing all of last season due to injury, Loa ranks 38
th in the NCAA and second in the SLC in hits allowed per nine innings (6.37) and 58
th in the NCAA and fifth in the SLC in ERA (3.02).
Steven Lancia
One of 56 catchers in NCAA Division I on the Buster Posey Award Midseason Watch List, Lancia ranks third in the NCAA in caught stealing percentage at 47.06% (16 out of 34). He also sports a .989 fielding percentage, having helped turn three doubles plays.
Offensively, Lancia is hitting .329/.430/.516 with five home runs, 11 doubles, two triples, 42 RBI, 37 runs scored and four stolen bases in 44 games, including 42 starts at catcher.
Lancia is leaving his mark on the program, as for his career, Lancia ranks third in putouts (1,123), ninth in RBI (111), 10
th in hits (184), and tied for 16
th in home runs (16).
Easton Moomau
Overall, Moomau is hitting .320/.405/.414 with three home runs, 10 doubles, 46 RBI, 47 runs scored and five stolen bases in 50 games. He has played sparkling defense, not only helping to turn 10 double plays, but making barehanded plays with ease.
Moomau stepped up during conference play, hitting .352/.441/.443 with two home runs, five doubles, 25 RBI, 30 runs scored, and four stolen bases in 30 games.
Isaac Lopez
One of 100 shortstops in NCAA Division I on the Brooks Wallace Award Watch List, given to the best shortstop in the country, Lopez is hitting .347/.418/.503 with six home runs, 13 doubles, 38 RBI, 51 runs scored, and 11 stolen bases in 47 games.
Lopez ranks 74
th in the NCAA and fourth in the SLC in hits per game (1.47), 79
th in the NCAA and second in the SLC in sacrifice flies (5), 106
th in the NCAA and sixth in the SLC in hits (69), 125
th in the NCAA and fifth in the SLC in runs per game (1.09), and 237
th in the NCAA and eighth in the SLC in hitting (.347).
Lopez is leaving his mark on the program, as for his career, Lopez ranks first in assists (491), second in hits (219), third in home runs (22), RBI (125), runs scored (157), and at-bats (705), and tied for eighth in games played (192).
Defensively, Lopez has a .971 fielding percentage and has been part of turning 27 double plays. This is Lopez's third-career all-defensive honor after previously being honored by the Western Athletic Conference at shortstop in 2022 and second base in 2023.
Jacob Sanchez
After missing all of last year due to injury, Sanchez is hitting .326/.443/.500 with eight home runs, seven doubles, 29 RBI, 48 runs scored, and four stolen bases in 48 starts at first base. He has also been strong defensively, making just one error for a .997 fielding percentage while helping to turn 37 double plays.
For his career, Sanchez is tied for 12
th in program history with 17 home runs.
Thomas Williams
Williams is hitting .268/.380/.463 with eight home runs, 13 doubles, 49 RBI, 41 runs scored and five stolen bases in 50 starts at second base. Williams leads the SLC with six sacrifice flies, the 34
th-most in the NCAA. He's also played strong defense, posting a .987 fielding percentage while helping to turn 33 double plays.
Player of the Year: Armani Raygoza, UTRGV
Hitter of the Year: Damian Ruiz, Lamar
Pitcher of the Year: Brennan Stuprich, Southeastern
Relief Pitcher of the Year: Brady St. Pierre, Southeastern
Newcomer of the Year: Víctor Loa, UTRGV
Freshman of the Year: Cermodrick Bland, SFA
Coach of the Year: Bobby Barbier, Southeastern
First Team All-Conference
C
Steven Lancia, UTRGV
1B Rob Liddington, UIW
2B Matt Ryan, Lamar
SS TJ Salvaggio, Southeastern
3B
Easton Moomau, UTRGV
OF Damian Ruiz, Lamar
OF Conner Westenburg, McNeese
OF Dane Watts, Southeastern
UT Bryce Calloway, New Orleans
DH
Armani Raygoza, UTRGV
SP Brennan Stuprich, Southeastern
SP Riely Hunsaker, Lamar
SP Víctor Loa, UTRGV
RP Brady St. Pierre, Southeastern
Second Team All-Conference
C Conner O'Neal, Southeastern
1B
Jacob Sanchez, UTRGV
2B
Thomas Williams, UTRGV
SS
Isaac Lopez, UTRGV
3B Rocco Gump, Northwestern State
OF Rhett Hendricks, HCU
OF Tristan Moore, New Orleans
OF Reese Lipoma, Northwestern State
UT Giovanni Licciardi, Southeastern
DH Rey Mendoza, UIW
SP Grant Edwards, New Orleans
SP Blake Lobell, Southeastern
SP Alexis Gravel, McNeese
RP Peyton Havard, Lamar
All-Defensive Team
C
Steven Lancia, UTRGV
1B Austin Russell, A&M-Corpus Christi
2B
Thomas Williams, UTRGV
SS
Isaac Lopez, UTRGV
3B
Easton Moomau, UTRGV
LF Dane Watts, Southeastern
CF Conner Westenburg, McNeese
RF Parker Coley, Southeastern
P Zach Garcia, A&M-Corpus Christi
No. 2 UTRGV opens Southland Conference Tournament Bracket Play, presented by Payne Auto Group, against No. 7 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday at 6 p.m. at UTRGV Baseball Stadium. No. 3 Lamar faces No. 6 Houston Christian University at 1 p.m.
All-tournament and single-session passes are on sale now and can be purchased at
UTRGVTickets.com. Current students of the participating Southland institutions receive free general admission with their student ID. All fans need to follow the clear bag policy, details of which can be found at
GoUTRGV.com/ClearBag. Fans can find a full list of game day information at
RallyTheValley.com. Gates open at 12 p.m.
Fans can watch all games domestically on
ESPN+ or internationally via
Southland International.
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