Mercer’s Kyle Lewis repeats as Southern Conference Player of the Year

The awards just keep coming for Mercer’s Kyle Lewis.

The junior center fielder was named the Southern Conference’s Player of the Year for the second straight season, sweeping the coaches’ and media members’ votes Monday. He is the third player in conference history to repeat, joining The Citadel’s Richard Wieters (1976-77) and Western Carolina’s Clint Fairey (1987-89).

Lewis, a preseason All-American and a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, which goes to the nation’s top player, is looking to become the conference’s first triple crown winner since 1975. He leads the conference with a .411 batting average (sixth nationally) and is second in RBI with 64 (seventh nationally), and he is two behind the conference leader with 17 home runs (11th nationally).

“It is very satisfying to repeat as the SoCon Player of the Year,” Lewis said. “Representing the program is always a huge blessing, especially when you can do so while accomplishing your goals of going to the ballpark every day and playing at a consistent level. I wanted to focus on each at-bat and not worry about the stats and it is very gratifying to know that that approach has paid off.”

Lewis also leads the conference and ranks in the top 10 nationally with a .729 slugging percentage (sixth nationally), a .545 on-base percentage (third), 64 runs (fifth) and 61 walks, a total that set a Mercer record and ranks second in the nation.

Lewis, who has had two hitting streaks of 15 games this season and reached base in 48 straight games, led Mercer to its second straight regular-season conference title. The Bears open their conference tournament defense at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday against the winner of The Citadel and VMI.

Lewis was joined on both first teams by shortstop Matt Meeder, while starting pitcher Ryan Askew and outfielder Trey Truitt were named to both second teams. Meeder leads the conference with 163 assists while committing just three errors in conference play. He batted .271 with 49 runs scored. Askew went 5-0 in conference games, finishing 5-2 overall with a 4.16 ERA, while Truitt led the Bears with 31 extra-base hits as he batted .329 with 14 home runs and 47 RBI.

Pitchers Conard Broom and Kevin Coulter were named to the all-freshman team. Broom finished 4-3 and led the nation with 39 appearances, while Coulter finished 7-3 and went eight innings Friday as Mercer beat UNC Greensboro 9-1 to clinch the conference’s regular-season title.

This story was originally published May 23, 2016 at 11:07 AM with the headline "Mercer’s Kyle Lewis repeats as Southern Conference Player of the Year."