Five Future 2026 Bats Honored with Conference Awards

KEENE, N.H. – The defending NECBL champion Keene SwampBats saw five players from their 2026 roster take home league recognition when conferences released their end of season awards over the course of this week.

University of Connecticut product Jackson Marshall – also a Hooksett, N.H. native who attended Pinkerton Academy and began his career at Southern New Hampshire – had a huge first year for the Huskies and was named the Big East Conference's Player of the Year, hitting .384 (by far a team-best) and crushing 14 home runs while driving in 60 runs in 57 games.  He also added 22 doubles and a triple while walking more times than he struck out (38-36).  Marshall will join Chris Polemeni and Rob Gilchrist as Bats this summer, with Polemeni hitting .297 with nine home runs, 34 runs batted in, and 11 steals in 49 games.

Also picking up awards were University of Maryland product Ryan Costello, who was named to the Big Ten Conference's All-Freshmen Team.  The New Jersey native was a feared power hitter himself for the Terrapins, compiling a .954 OPS while swatting a team-high 15 home runs while driving in 59.  He reached base at a .397 clip and had 16 multi-hit games, including a trio of multi-home run games at Louisiana on February 22, at eventual Super Regional participant Troy on March 8, and at Ohio State on April 4.

Mercer University rising junior Eli Stephens (Warner Robins, Ga.) had a monster year of his own for the 44-15 Bears, finishing with a .374 average and 1.225 OPS, to be named to the All-Southern Conference First Team.  He connected for 20 long balls and drove in 64 runs, including a three-hit and six-RBI day in a win at Georgia Tech, a top-two national seed, on May 12.

Luke Boykin (Jesup, Ga.) will join the Bats coming off a strong redshirt junior year at Samford University, where he hit .313 in 52 games and hit 20 home runs himself, driving in 61, to be named to the All-Southern Conference Second Team.  He had two four-hit, five-RBI games and 18 with multiple hits.

Liam O'Leary (Souderton, Pa.), who came to St. John's University via Lackawanna Community College and Montgomery County Community College, helped the Red Storm have a resurgent year that has resulted in a Super Regional NCAA trip, leading the way on the mound with a 3.25 ERA in 16 games (16 starts).  He struck out 74 in 105.1 innings and limited opponents to a .240 average, including whiffing a season-high eight three times, the last of which in a complete-game effort at Villanova on May 8.  After being named to the All-Big East Conference First Team, he then tossed 5.1 innings with six strikeouts in an eventual upset victory over Florida State University that helped St. John's eventually emerge victorious from the Tallahassee Regional, upsetting the No. 10 nationally-ranked Seminoles twice.

The SwampBats open their 2026 season at home against the Danbury Westerners on Thursday, June 4 at 6:30 p.m. and are also home on Saturday, June 6 against the North Adams SteepleCats sandwiching their first road game at North Shore on Friday, June 5.