SAN MARCOS, Texas (5/24/16) – Arkansas State's Tanner Ring earned First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors, while Joe Schrimpf was named Second-Team All-Conference Tuesday night the league announced at its annual Championship Family Night at Bobcat Ballpark in San Marcos, Texas.

Ring claimed the first team's third baseman accolade after playing the majority of the season at the hot corner before shifting to shortstop down the stretch due to injuries. The Batesville, Ark., native was named the Preseason All-SBC third baseman and delivered during his senior season with team bests in runs (39), doubles (15), home runs (7), total bases (104), and slugging percentage (.491).

Additionally, Ring is second on the team with 41 RBIs and is third on the team with a .302 batting average and eight stolen bases. His totals in doubles, home runs, total bases, RBIs, and slugging percentage all rank as top-10 in the Sun Belt. The right-hander has also logged 12.2 innings on the mound with a team-high three saves. He's also hitting a team-best .325 in SBC games with 25 runs scored.

Schrimpf earned second-team honors as a utility player after seeing action at four different positions throughout the season including catcher, second base, third base, and designated hitter. The junior leads the Red Wolves in batting average with a .316 mark and on-base percentage at .438. He has knocked in a team-high 42 runs and leads the team in walks (37) and sacrifice bunts (9). The on-base percentage is third best in the conference, while the RBI total is tied for seventh.

A native of St. Louis, Mo., Schrimpf is second on the team in runs scored with 36, doubles with 12, total bases with 96 and is tied for second in home runs with six on the year. He is the only regular starter on the team with more walks (37) than strikeouts (33) and has been excellent defensively with a .993 fielding percentage. He's only had two errors charged to him all season and threw out six runners attempting to steal from behind the plate.

The selections of Ring and Schrimpf to the All-SBC team mark the first time since the 2012 season that A-State has placed multiple players on the two squads. Jacob Lee was a first-team honoree, while Dustin Jones and John Koch took home second-team accolades.

Arkansas State was the winner of the 2016 SBC Team Academic Award. A-State placed six players on the Academic Honor Roll with another 10 garnering Commissioner's List accolades.

Ring was also the Red Wolves' participant in the home run derby and helped lead the “West” team to a 28-16 victory over the “East” squad and led all players with 11 long balls. Manager Hunter Schneider was the pitcher for Ring's derby barrage of round-trippers.

The Arkansas State baseball team underwent a morning practice session today and will open the 2016 Sun Belt Conference Tournament against the top seed Louisiana-Lafayette Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Bobcat Ballpark. Tomorrow's game can be watched online on SunBeltSports.org, while the remaining games can be viewed on ESPN3.

For the latest on A-State baseball follow the team by logging onto the Arkansas State Baseball Facebook page or by following the team on Twitter (@ASTATEBaseball) and Instagram (arkansasstatebaseball).

2016 All-Sun Belt Conference Honorees

All-Sun Belt Baseball First Team

Gunner Leger (UL Lafayette, Sophomore, SP, Exercise Science)

Kevin Hill (South Alabama, RS-Senior, SP, Interdisciplinary Studies)

Grant Bennett (Troy, Senior, SP, Social Science)

Dylan Moore (UL Lafayette, Sophomore, RP, Political Science-Pre Law)

Brady Cox (UT Arlington, Junior, C, Interdisciplinary Studies)

Tanner Hill (Texas State, Senior, 1B, General Studies)

Darien McLemore (UT Arlington, Senior, 2B, Business Management)

Drew LaBounty (South Alabama, RS-Sophomore, SS, Leisure Studies)

Tanner Ring (Arkansas State, Senior, 3B, Exercise Science)

Ryan Scott (Little Rock, Senior, OF, Management)

Kyle Clement (UL Lafayette, Senior, OF, General Studies)

Cole Billingsley (South Alabama, RS-Junior, OF, Sports Management)

Cory Geisler (Texas State, Senior, UTIL, Applied Arts and Sciences)

Dalton Thomas (Little Rock, Junior, DH, Undecided)



All-Sun Belt Baseball Second Team

Evan Challenger (Georgia Southern, Junior, SP, Sport Management)

Kadon Simmons (UT Arlington, Junior, SP, Business/Information Systems)

Lucas Brown (Troy, Senior, SP, Criminal Justice)

Pasquale Mazzoccoli (Texas State, Senior, RP, Applied Arts and Sciences)

Joey Roach (Georgia State, Senior, C, Actuarial Science)

Ryan Cleveland (Georgia Southern, Junior, 1B, Justice Studies)

Hayden Martin (Little Rock, Senior, 2B, Economics/Finance)

Matt Vernon (Appalachian State, Junior, SS, Communication Studies)

Jarrett Hood (Georgia State, Junior, 3B, Health & Physical Education)

Quintin Rohrbaugh (UT Arlington, Junior, OF, Business Finance)

Granger Studdard (Texas State, Junior, OF, Criminal Justice)

Joey Denison (Troy, Junior, OF, Global Business)

Joe Schrimpf (Arkansas State, Junior, UTIL, Business Administration)

Colton Turner (UT Arlington, Junior, DH, Sports Management)

Sun Belt Baseball Student-Athlete of the Year

Ryan Scott (Little Rock, Senior, OF, Management)

Sun Belt Baseball Pitcher of the Year

Kevin Hill (South Alabama, RS-Senior, SP, Interdisciplinary Studies)

Sun Belt Baseball Freshman of the Year

Nick Lee (UL Lafayette, Freshman, SP, Petroleum Engineering)

Sun Belt Baseball Ron Maestri Coach of the Year

Chris Curry, Little Rock