Rice University Athletics
Photo by: Maria Lysaker | Rice Athletics
Davis Named Baseball MVP
6/19/2026 9:29:00 AM | Baseball
2026 team awards announced
Houston: Second baseman JC Davis, whose torrid start to the season set the tone for Rice's most successful baseball season in a decade, has been named the winner of the 2026 Dell Morgan Award as the Owls' MVP, one of a series of team-determined honors that were announced on Friday.
Davis was also named Defensive Player of the Year, Paul Smith was named Offensive Player of the Year, and the winner of the Rice Guy award, Tanner Wiggins, was named Pitcher of the Year, and Ethan Sanders won the Academic Player of the Year.
He made his Rice debut by hitting .636 against Northwestern to open the season, and went on to earn second-team American All-Conference honors while anchoring second base for the Owls as the Owls saw an 18-win improvement and finished the season 35-24. Davis led the Owls with a .330 batting average, the highest mark by an Owl since Braden Comeaux hit .346 in 2021. He ranked second on the team with 42 runs, 62 hits, 38 RBI, and 15 two-out RBI. In the field, he led the Owls and ranked third in The American with 32 double plays. He was the first Owl to earn American Player of the Week honors after hitting .600 and driving in 11 runs, including a .667 average, 10 RBI, and six runs in the sweep of UAB (5/1-3), and became the first Owl since 2019 with a five-hit game with a 5x6 effort vs A&M CC on 4/7.
Smith led the Owls in homers (13), RBI (49), total bases (111), slugging (.563), and walks (37) in his first season as a full-time starter, primarily as the DH (52 games). He ranked sixth in the conference with 13 homers on the season and ninth in the American with five homers in conference games. Rice was 9-2 when he homered. Wrapped the season hitting .333 at home along with nine of his 13 home runs, including a pair of two-homer games (vs. Harvard on 2/27, and vs. UAB on 5/2)… He followed his two-homer game vs. Harvard in the first game of the doubleheader with another in the bottom of the eighth in the nightcap to break a 1-1 tie and give the Owls a 2-1 win. In addition to Harvard, he also hit three home runs vs. UAB in 2026, hitting a pair at Reckling Park on 5/2 and then another in Clearwater, Florida in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game 5-5. Since he moved into the starting lineup in the final game of the UAB series in 2025, Smith has hit .300 with 14 homers and 58 RBI in 71 games (74x246).
Wiggins earned American Conference Newcomer Pitcher of the Year while solidifying the Owls' starting rotation as the Friday starter after opening the season in the bullpen. He tied for second in the American League with 83.1 innings pitched and 10th with a 4.10 ERA. He led the league with 59.1 innings in nine conference starts and ranked seventh with 38 strikeouts. He was 4-2 with a 4.46 ERA in his 11 starts, including a 4-2 mark and 4.55 ERA in nine conference starts this past season. Wiggins worked into the sixth inning in nine of 11 series-opening starts, including eight of nine in conference action (the last seven in a row). Rice was 7-4 in his 11 starts.
Sanders posted a 3.97 ERA in his first year on campus while earning conference All-Freshmen honors. He led the team with 64 strikeouts, tied for the lead with five wins, and ranked second with 14 starts and 83 innings. His totals for starts, innings, and strikeouts were the most by a Rice freshman since Matt Canterino in 2017. He was 2-2 with a 2.54 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP in eight games (six starts) at Reckling Park last season.
Davis was also named Defensive Player of the Year, Paul Smith was named Offensive Player of the Year, and the winner of the Rice Guy award, Tanner Wiggins, was named Pitcher of the Year, and Ethan Sanders won the Academic Player of the Year.
He made his Rice debut by hitting .636 against Northwestern to open the season, and went on to earn second-team American All-Conference honors while anchoring second base for the Owls as the Owls saw an 18-win improvement and finished the season 35-24. Davis led the Owls with a .330 batting average, the highest mark by an Owl since Braden Comeaux hit .346 in 2021. He ranked second on the team with 42 runs, 62 hits, 38 RBI, and 15 two-out RBI. In the field, he led the Owls and ranked third in The American with 32 double plays. He was the first Owl to earn American Player of the Week honors after hitting .600 and driving in 11 runs, including a .667 average, 10 RBI, and six runs in the sweep of UAB (5/1-3), and became the first Owl since 2019 with a five-hit game with a 5x6 effort vs A&M CC on 4/7.
Smith led the Owls in homers (13), RBI (49), total bases (111), slugging (.563), and walks (37) in his first season as a full-time starter, primarily as the DH (52 games). He ranked sixth in the conference with 13 homers on the season and ninth in the American with five homers in conference games. Rice was 9-2 when he homered. Wrapped the season hitting .333 at home along with nine of his 13 home runs, including a pair of two-homer games (vs. Harvard on 2/27, and vs. UAB on 5/2)… He followed his two-homer game vs. Harvard in the first game of the doubleheader with another in the bottom of the eighth in the nightcap to break a 1-1 tie and give the Owls a 2-1 win. In addition to Harvard, he also hit three home runs vs. UAB in 2026, hitting a pair at Reckling Park on 5/2 and then another in Clearwater, Florida in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game 5-5. Since he moved into the starting lineup in the final game of the UAB series in 2025, Smith has hit .300 with 14 homers and 58 RBI in 71 games (74x246).
Wiggins earned American Conference Newcomer Pitcher of the Year while solidifying the Owls' starting rotation as the Friday starter after opening the season in the bullpen. He tied for second in the American League with 83.1 innings pitched and 10th with a 4.10 ERA. He led the league with 59.1 innings in nine conference starts and ranked seventh with 38 strikeouts. He was 4-2 with a 4.46 ERA in his 11 starts, including a 4-2 mark and 4.55 ERA in nine conference starts this past season. Wiggins worked into the sixth inning in nine of 11 series-opening starts, including eight of nine in conference action (the last seven in a row). Rice was 7-4 in his 11 starts.
Sanders posted a 3.97 ERA in his first year on campus while earning conference All-Freshmen honors. He led the team with 64 strikeouts, tied for the lead with five wins, and ranked second with 14 starts and 83 innings. His totals for starts, innings, and strikeouts were the most by a Rice freshman since Matt Canterino in 2017. He was 2-2 with a 2.54 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP in eight games (six starts) at Reckling Park last season.
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