Old Dominion University announced on May 18 that junior infielder Will Johnson and freshman pitcher Ben Tanton have received postseason recognition from the Sun Belt Conference for their performances during the 2026 baseball season.
The announcement highlights the achievements of both players in their first year with the Monarchs. Johnson, a transfer from Northern Oklahoma College, started all 53 games he played. He finished the regular season with a .347 batting average, five home runs, and led ODU in multi-hit games. His performance included being named Sun Belt Player of the Week on May 12 after helping Old Dominion to a series win at No. 8 Coastal Carolina.
Tanton led ODU pitchers with an undefeated record of seven wins and one save, along with two shutouts and a 1.87 earned run average over his appearances. The right-hander allowed only five earned runs across more than thirty-three innings pitched and held opponents to a .147 batting average.
Other conference awards were given to Jimmy Janicki of Troy as Player of the Year, Grayden Harris of Southern Miss as Pitcher of the Year, Gage Peterson from App State as Newcomer of the Year, Brady Christman from Georgia Southern as Freshman of the Year, Bryce Blevins from Marshall for leadership, and Christian Ostrander from Southern Miss as Coach of the Year after leading his team to a regular season title.
Old Dominion has secured the eighth seed for this week’s Sun Belt Conference Championship tournament and will play ninth-seeded Georgia State in a single-elimination game scheduled for Tuesday at DABOS Park.
