Five Eutectics named 1st or 2nd Team AC; Riggs wins Gold Glove
BALLWIN, MO - On the eve of the 2026 AMC Postseason Tournament, the league office unveiled the list of 2026 All-Conference recipients. UHSP saw five different players land spots on either the First or Second Team All-Conference, Deklan Riggs won a Gold Glove at first base and Brayden Steves was named to the Champions of Character Team.
Jacob Grim was named First Team All-Conference after a versatile season in which he powered the UHSP offense and also went 6-2 on the mound, the most wins of anyone on the staff and tied for fifth in the AMC. He led the club with both eight homeruns and 38 runs batted in. Grim was fourth on the team in hitting with a .348 average. He was second on the club and in the AMC in stolen bases with 25, second only to teammate Brandon Gibbs. On the hill, Grim threw 46.0 innings and had an ERA of 6.65. He struck out 43 and walked 28. Those 43 strikeouts were tied for tenth in the conference.
Gibbs, Tristan Calmes, Nolan Harding and Barrett Lohman were all named to the AMC Second Team All-Conference. Gibbs set the table atop the UHSP lineup as he was fifth on the club with a .441 on base percentage while he led both the team and the league in stolen bases with 36, a mark that ties his own school record from a season ago. Gibbs found a home at second base this year and greatly improved on his defense as he had a fielding percentage of .957. Last year playing shortstop, Gibbs had an .898 fielding percentage. Gibbs, who ended last year on a 20-game hitting streak, began another hitting streak this season that extended over 17 games.
Calmes this season turned in the most memorable outing of any Eutectic on the mound this year and led UHSP to their first-ever win over Columbia. He struck out a Eutectic-record 17 on April 18 while throwing 153 pitches in a 9-inning complete game win over the Cougars 3-2. That outing earned him his second AMC Pitcher of the Week award along with NAIA Pitcher of the Week. In 11 appearances, the righthander went 5-4 with a team-best ERA of 4.32, eighth in the league. The durable starter also threw eight innings of shutout, two-hit ball in a no-decision on April 2 against Mission in what turned out to a 10-inning 1-0 win for the Patriots. Calmes finished second on the staff with 62 strikeouts on the season, sixth-most in the AMC.
Harding was the second-best hitter on the Eutectics with a batting average of .367. His 32 RBI's were second on the club as he had eight doubles and two homeruns and slugged .417 on the year. In mid-February, Harding assembled a 13-game hitting streak and he wrapped up the regular season with double-digit hits in four of his last six games. During the year, he ended up with more walks (13) than strikeouts (10).
Lohman had 11 appearances this season and led the staff in strikeouts with 64, putting him fifth in the AMC on that list while he walked just 21. He finished the season 5-4 with a 5.00 ERA which was 11th in the conference. On March 9 he was named conference Pitcher of the Week after throwing his second consecutive complete game of the year while notching a win 2-1 win over Central Baptist. He held the Mustangs to just three hits and struck out 10 without giving up an earned run. On the year, Lohman was responsible for five of the team's seven complete games.
Deklan Riggs won a Gold Glove at first base for the Eutectics as he finished with a team-high .996 fielding percentage. That number was third in the AMC of any player that had a minimum of 50 total chances. In 265 total chances, third-most of all players in the AMC, Riggs committed just one error on the season. The only two players in the conference with more defensive chances this season combined to commit 13 errors on the year. The veteran first basemen becomes the first Eutectic to ever win a Gold Glove.
Brayden Steves was named to the AMC Champions of Character Team. One player is selected from each team for the honor for best exemplifying the five core values of the NAIA Champions of Character program: integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership.