Kansas City, Mo. - The Central Methodist Baseball program garnered nine Heart All-Conference selections, which were announced by the conference office last Friday.
Four Eagles earned First Team All-Conference honors in Darius Freeman (OF), Carlos Negron (OF), Gavin Whitehurst (DH), and Foster Seitz (P).
The trio of Kyle Williams (1st), Tanner Sears (C), and Ryan Malzahn (OF) were named to the Second Team, while Valentin Cerna Jr. and David Soriano earned Honorable Mention nods.
In his lone season with the Eagles, Freeman has appeared and started in all 48 games as Central's primary centerfielder. The native of Kansas City batted .358 with 57 hits including 10 doubles, seven home runs, and a triple.
He has driven in 35 total RBI and leads the team with 21 stolen bases.
Negron lands on the First Team for the second consecutive year. The Corozal, Puerto Rico native has played in all 48 games and is batting .362 with six doubles, 15 home runs while driving in 62 RBI. He has also drawn 19 walks and scored 43 runs.
Whitehurst earned First Team honors in his first season with the Eagles. The junior played in 42 games in dual roles of first base/DH. He is currently batting .404 with four doubles, two triples, and three home runs.
Seitz was named to the First Team after earning Second Team honors as a junior in 2024. The native of St. Louis, Missouri pitched in 14 games with 14 starts, tallying an 11-3 record with a 3.27 earned run average through 85.1 innings pitched.
To date, he has struck out 63 total batters and has tossed four complete games.
Williams, a second team selection this year, led the team with a .406 batting average through 48 games played. The senior from Dallas, Texas is third on the team in home runs (11), second in doubles (15), and is tied for the team lead with two triples. He has driven in 49 runners and crossed the plate a team-best 60 times so far this season.
Sears finishes his career as a four-time Heart All-Conference selection, earning second team honors for the third time in his CMU career. The Higginsville, Missouri native appeared in all 48 games for the Eagles as the primary catcher for the team. Sears hit a career-best .392 with 12 doubles, 10 home runs, and a triple.
He made nine appearances on the bump, tallying a 4-1 record with two saves.
Malzahn joins the second team honorees after finishing second on the team in home runs (13), RBI (61) and stolen bases (15), while leading the Eagles with 16 doubles. The junior from Foristell, Missouri has played in 47 games and has tallied a .402 batting average with 66 hits.
Cerna Jr. earned an Honorable Mention nod for the second straight year. He is currently batting .374 from the leadoff spot with 64 hits including 13 doubles and four home runs.
Additionally, Cerna Jr. has drawn 33 walks, driven in 31 RBI, and has crossed the plate 57 times.
Soriano also earned Honorable Mention honors after being named to the Second Team as a junior. The native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic batted .284 in 43 games for the Eagles. He tallied four home runs, four doubles, and a triple while drawing 25 walks and driving in 20 RBI.
Central ran the table at this year's Heart of America Conference Tournament with a perfect 4-0 record and knocking off the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds en route to their third tournament title in the last five years.
To view the conference release on this year's Heart Baseball All-Conference selections, please click here.
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