Rice University Athletics
Five Owls Earn American Conference Honors
5/19/2026 10:44:00 AM | Baseball
The three members of Rice's weekend rotation, Tanner Wiggins, Ethan Sanders, and Ryland Urbanczyk, were among five Owls honored by American Conference coaches in the conference's annual season awards, which were announced on Tuesday.
Wiggins was named the American Conference Newcomer Pitcher of the Year, while Urbanczyk, Ty Thames, and JC Davis were named to the American All-Conference second team. Thames and Sanders were named to the All-Freshman team.
Wiggins took over as the Owls' series-opening starter in mid-March and became a model of consistency, working at least six innings in nine of 10 starts and working into the seventh in six. He ranks fourth in the American League with 78.1 innings and 10th with a 4.02 ERA for all games, and he leads the American Conference with 59.1 innings and ranks seventh with 38 strikeouts in conference games. Rice was 7-3 in his ten starts, including a 12-0, seven-inning shutout over Tulane in his last start.
Urbanczyk completed the long road back from surgery that saw him last pitch for the Owls in 2024, leading the Owls with 14 starts and ranking second in the conference with a 2.77 ERA and third with a .218 opponents' batting average. His 2.77 ERA is the lowest for a Rice starter since Adison Moss posted a 2.43 mark in 2018.
Davis leads the Owls with a .335 average at the plate and ranks second in runs (39), RBI (38), and hits while striking out only 15 times in 176 at-bats.
Thames leads the Owls with six saves, which is tied for third in the conference among all relievers and tied fourth nationally among freshmen. He ranks fourth in the American with a .204 opponents' batting average and seventh with a 3.34 ERA in conference games.
Sanders moved into the Saturday starting role in the second week of the season, has worked a team-best 79.1 innings (second in the American Conference), and struck out a team-high 61 (ninth in the American). His innings pitched, strikeouts, and starts (13) are the most by a Rice freshman since Matt Canterino in 2017.
Rice opens play in the American Conference Baseball Championship in Clearwater, Florida at noon on Thursday, facing the winner of Wednesday's play-in game between Florida Atlantic and Wichita State.
Wiggins was named the American Conference Newcomer Pitcher of the Year, while Urbanczyk, Ty Thames, and JC Davis were named to the American All-Conference second team. Thames and Sanders were named to the All-Freshman team.
Wiggins took over as the Owls' series-opening starter in mid-March and became a model of consistency, working at least six innings in nine of 10 starts and working into the seventh in six. He ranks fourth in the American League with 78.1 innings and 10th with a 4.02 ERA for all games, and he leads the American Conference with 59.1 innings and ranks seventh with 38 strikeouts in conference games. Rice was 7-3 in his ten starts, including a 12-0, seven-inning shutout over Tulane in his last start.
Urbanczyk completed the long road back from surgery that saw him last pitch for the Owls in 2024, leading the Owls with 14 starts and ranking second in the conference with a 2.77 ERA and third with a .218 opponents' batting average. His 2.77 ERA is the lowest for a Rice starter since Adison Moss posted a 2.43 mark in 2018.
Davis leads the Owls with a .335 average at the plate and ranks second in runs (39), RBI (38), and hits while striking out only 15 times in 176 at-bats.
Thames leads the Owls with six saves, which is tied for third in the conference among all relievers and tied fourth nationally among freshmen. He ranks fourth in the American with a .204 opponents' batting average and seventh with a 3.34 ERA in conference games.
Sanders moved into the Saturday starting role in the second week of the season, has worked a team-best 79.1 innings (second in the American Conference), and struck out a team-high 61 (ninth in the American). His innings pitched, strikeouts, and starts (13) are the most by a Rice freshman since Matt Canterino in 2017.
Rice opens play in the American Conference Baseball Championship in Clearwater, Florida at noon on Thursday, facing the winner of Wednesday's play-in game between Florida Atlantic and Wichita State.
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