ST. AUGUSTINE – Flagler College's George Gilson was selected as the Peach Belt Conference's Player of the Year and he joined CJ Hanson and Payton Palladino on the all-conference first team, according to a release this morning by conference officials.

Gilson, a sophomore outfielder from Jacksonville, Florida, leads the team in batting (.406), hits (76), runs (62), doubles (21), triples (5), home runs (13), runs batted in (67), total bases (146), slugging percentage (.781), on-base percentage (.487), and stolen bases (33). He leads the PBC in is first in doubles, home runs, RBI, total bases, slugging percentage, and OPS (1.268). Gilson is second in the PBC in batting average, triples, and stolen bases, third in runs scored, seventh in on-base percentage, and eighth in hits. He was selected as the PBC Player of the Week twice (Feb. 16 and April 20) and was the NCBWA Southeast Region Player of the Week on Feb. 16. Gilson is the first Flagler baseball player to earn the league's player of the year award.

Hanson, a redshirt junior pitcher from Tampa, Florida, leads the staff with a 3.07 earned run average, a 7-2 record, and has 75 strikeouts in 82.0 innings pitched. He leads the PBC in ERA, is tied for second in games started (13), is second in inning pitched and strikeouts, and is third in opponents' batting average (.243). Hanson was selected as the PBC Pitcher of the Week twice (Feb. 16 and April 6). He tied the school record for strikeouts in a game with 16.

Palladino, a junior third baseman from Danvers, Massachusetts, is batting .303 with 53 hits, including 15 doubles, and five home runs. He has knocked in 32 runs and scored 40 more. Palladino is 11^th in the PBC in doubles.

Flagler is 33-16 overall and has a 20-10 mark in league play. The Saints open the PBC Tournament tomorrow at 5 p.m. against Georgia Southwestern State University at Dahlonega, Georgia.

2026 PBC Baseball All-Conference Team

First Team
 
1B- Yariel Diaz, USCA
2B- Jackson Chizek, Columbus State
3B- Payton Palladino, Flagler
SS- Ben Hamacher, North Georgia
C- Kyle Robitzsch, North Georgia
DH- Evan Wainman, Georgia Southwestern
UT- Jackson Chizek, Columbus State
OF- George Gilson, Flagler
OF- Evan Cowan, GCSU
OF- Jax Yoxtheimer, Columbus State
OF- Evan Harding, USCA
SP- Evan Koehler, Georgia Southwestern
SP- CJ Hanson, Flagler
SP- Joseph Rauscher, USCA
SP- Matthew Heard, North Georgia
RP- Cooper Sain, Georgia Southwestern
RP- CJ Lincoln, USCA
RP- Joshua Sanchez, Lander
 
Second Team
 
1B- Cayden Evans, Columbus State
2B- Salvatore Laimo, USCA
3B- Maverick Grigsby, USCA
3B- Patrick Crosby, Middle Georgia
SS- Nolan Turner, Augusta
C- Donovan Glisson, USCA
C- Sebastian Collender, Middle Georgia
DH- Cam Hodge, North Georgia
UT- JD Coleman, North Georgia
OF- Oliver Zohn, Lander
OF- Jake Streeter, North Georgia
OF- Devon Murphy, Georgia Southwestern
OF- Chancellor Jennings, USCA
OF- Brody Winter, Lander
SP- Johnny Nutt, Georgia Southwestern
SP- Andrew Duval, North Georgia
SP- Kevin Cox, North Georgia
SP- Ben Shepherd, USCA
 
Player of the Year
George Gilson, Flagler
 
Pitcher of the Year
Evan Koehler, Georgia Southwestern
 
Freshman of the Year
Johnny Nutt, Georgia Southwestern
 
Coach of the Year
Nolan Belcher, North Georgia
 
Elite 18 Award
Tams Mullins, GCSU

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