Tars Land Four on All-SSC Team

MELBOURNE, Fla. (May 12, 2025) - The Sunshine State Conference announced award-winners for the 2025 regular season on Tuesday morning, as voted on by league coaches. Among the honorees were four Tars ... Jimmy Thies, Mason Wilson, Nick Berger, and Jeslyn Whitehead.

Thies found his swing in year three with the Tars, leading the team with a .399 batting average. The redshirt junior had more hits in 2025 (61) than in his previous two seasons combined (60). In 47 games played, Thies roped eight doubles, hit four home runs, scored 43 times, and drove in 27. He also reached base an additional 37 times via walk (22) and hit by pitch (15), giving him an on-base percentage of .513, which not only led the Tars, but was the second-highest OBP in the history of the program (Grant Ashline, .514, 2016). Thies was also tabbed by league coaches as the second-base representative on the SSC All-Defensive team, an astounding feat considering he had never played the position before. In 226 chances, Thies committed only eight errors for a fielding percentage of .965. 

Wilson was the biggest bat in the Tars' lineup throughout the spring. He was the only player to see action in all 49 games this season, with the majority of those starts coming from behind home plate, leading to his first-team selection. Wilson went 65-182 in the batter's box for a .357 average. He also reached base at a .456 clip and slugged .714 for an OPS of 1.170. Wilson was an extra-base hit machine, stroking 15 doubles, a triple, and 16 home runs this season. He had four games with two-home runs, and earned a pair of SSC Player of the Week awards, as well as one NCBWA South Region Player of the Week award. Wilson's name is now dotted all over the Rollins record book for season output, including the second-highest slugging percentage, the fourth-most home runs, and the fourth-most RBI (69). 

Berger was the third Tar to be named to the first-team, his third time landing on the list. The Winter Park native was responsible for more than one-third of the Tars' wins this season, going 10-3 on the mound in 14 starts. He led the team in wins, WHIP (1.20), innings (84.2), strikeouts (51), and opponent average (.261). He turned in seven quality starts this season, and had eight outings allowing one or zero runs. Berger was second in the SSC in wins and fourth in innings. The highlight of his season came on April 5 against Barry when he went the distance in a five hit shutout of the Buccaneers, which earned him the NCWBA National Pitcher of the Week award. He was also SSC Pitcher of the Week three times. 

Whitehead likely would have been a first-teamer at third base as well if not for the stellar season from Lynn's Cole Fowler. Still, the grad student had plenty to be proud of for Rollins in a season that saw him slash .388/.449/.517. Whitehead went 81-209 at the plate, leading the team in both categories. He scored 51 runs (also a team-high), drove in 43, and tied for the team lead with 13 stolen bases. The Orlando native reached base safely in his first 34 games of the season, and at one point, led Division II in average. He had 24 multi-hit games, including a five piece on March 23 at Lynn. This is the second All-SSC nod for Whitehead, who was named first-team in 2023. In just over three seasons of play totaling 179 games, Whitehead can be found among the program's all-time leaders in hits (280, 4th), average (.370, 8th), runs (149, 10th), and RBI (139, 10th). 

2025 SSC Baseball All-Conference Selections
 
Player of the Year: Cole Fowler, Lynn
Pitcher of the Year: CJ Williams, Tampa
Freshman of the Year: Brad Benton, Lynn
Coach of the Year: Joe Urso, Tampa
 

2025 All-SSC Baseball First Team
1B	Max Kops	Embry-Riddle	Gr.	Noord-Brabant, Netherlands
2B	Jimmy Thies	Rollins	Jr.	Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
3B	Cole Fowler1	Lynn	Sr.	Mantua, New Jersey
SS	JD Urso2	Tampa	Gr.	Tampa, Florida
C	Mason Wilson	Rollins	Sr.	Orlando, Florida
UT	Ahmad Fitts	Florida Southern	Gr.	Valrico, Florida
DH	Amaris Harrison	Lynn	Jr.	Pasadena, California
OF	Grant Thoroman	Florida Southern	Gr.	Girard, Illinois
OF	Jordan Williams	Tampa	Gr.	Odessa, Florida
OF	Mikey Scott3	Florida Southern	Gr.	Cutler Bay, Florida
OF	Noah Rabin	Florida Southern	Gr.	Sebastopol, California
SP	CJ Williams	Tampa	Gr.	Deerfield Beach, Florida
SP	Nick Berger4	Rollins	Sr.	Winter Park, Florida
SP	Jake Stipp5	Tampa	Gr.	Danville, Illinois
SP	Ryan DiMaggio	Lynn	Fr.	Centreville, Maryland
RP	Nathan Shane	Lynn	Sr.	Tampa, Florida
2025 All-SSC Baseball Second Team
1B	Felix Diaz	Barry	Sr.	North Brunswick, New Jersey
2B	Brayden Woodburn	Tampa	Jr.	Winter Springs, Florida
3B	Jeslyn Whitehead6	Rollins	Gr.	Orlando, Florida
SS	Roylan Quevedo	Nova Southeastern	Jr.	Miami, Florida
C	Jhoander Irigoyen	Tampa	Jr.	Winter Garden, Florida
UT	Ryan Crivello	Saint Leo	Jr.	Odessa, Florida
OF	Justin Wachs7	Nova Southeastern	Sr.	Pembroke Pines, Florida
OF	Xavier Moronta	Nova Southeastern	Gr.	Miramar, Florida
OF	Leon Paulino8	Lynn	Sr.	Lawrence, Massachusetts
OF	Thomas DeBrower	Saint Leo	Jr.	Ankeny, Iowa
SP	Sachem Ramos	Florida Southern	So.	Woodacre, California
SP	Logan Adams	Florida Southern	Jr.	Arcadia, Florida
SP	Keyler Gonzalez	Nova Southeastern	So.	Santa Clara, Cuba
SP	Federico Zapata	Nova Southeastern	Jr.	Miami, Florida
RP	Jacob Fletcher	Tampa	Sr.	Acworth, Georgia
2025 SSC Baseball All-Defensive Team
1B	Cole Russo	Tampa	Sr.	Tampa, Florida
1B	David Judge9	Lynn	Gr.	Troy, New York
2B	Jimmy Thies	Rollins	Jr.	Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
3B	Rohsean Riley10	Florida Southern	Sr.	Winter Haven, Florida
SS	Roylan Quevedo	Nova Southeastern	Jr.	Miami, Florida
C	Corey Filley	Florida Southern	Jr.	Dade City, Florida
OF	Grant Thoroman	Florida Southern	Gr.	Girard, Illinois
OF	Kendry Noriega	Barry	Sr.	Havana, Cuba
OF	Jordan Williams	Tampa	Gr.	Odessa, Florida
P	Tristan Harley	Embry-Riddle	Jr.	Tallahassee, Florida

 
1 Fowler (LU) -  2024 First Team (3B)
2 Urso (UT) -  2023 Second Team (SS), 2022 First Team (SS), 2022 Freshman of the Year
3 Scott (FS) - 2024 First Team (UT w/ Saint Leo)
4 Berger (RC) - 2024 First Team (SP), 2023 Second Team (SP)
5 Stipp (UT) - 2024 Second Team (SP)
6 Whitehead (RC) - 2023 First Team (1B), 2023 Defensive Team (1B)
7 Wachs (NS) - 2024 First Team (OF)
8 Paulino (LU) - 2024 First Team (OF)
9 Judge (LU) - 2023 Second Team (1B)
10 Riley (FS) - 2024 Defensive Team (3B), 2023 First Team (3B)