Roadrunners Earn Postseason Honors

Date:

Standley Named North Zone Player of the Year

Angelina College’s Cole Standley, a Woodville High School product, earned Region XIV North Zone Player of the Year honors following the 2026 season. Standley, who also earned 1st Team All-Region honors, was one of six Roadrunners named to the postseason superlatives list. (Gary Stallard photo for AC Athletics)

Several Angelina College baseball players landed on the postseason superlatives list, with Roadrunner Cole Standley taking home Region XIV North Zone Player of the Year honors.

Other ‘Runners included Brayden Pate (2nd Team Second Base), Connor Ficarra (2nd Team Outfield), Ethan Muniz (2nd Team Pitcher), Jorge Arcia-Palma (Honorable Mention Catcher) and Gavin Harmse (Honorable Mention Outfield). 

Standley, a sophomore from Woodville High School in Woodville, also earned 1st Team All-Region honors following a season in which he led the team in hitting with a .409 batting average, 10 homers and 18 doubles, and 52 runs batted in (good enough for fourth place in all of Region XIV). Standley finished with a slugging percentage of .787 for the season.

Pate, a freshman from Gilmer High School in Gilmer, hit at a .362 clip with 13 RBI, 28 runs scored and four stolen bases. 

Ficarra, a sophomore from Cinco Ranch High School in Katy, drove in 35 runs and scored another 28 while batting .281. Ficarra also stole 11 bases on the season. 

Muniz, a redshirt freshman and right-handed pitcher from Cinco Ranch High School in Katy, struck out 55 batters in 59 innings pitched, winning seven of the 11 games he started in 2026. 

Freshman Arcia-Palma, from St. Pius X High School in Caracas, Venezuela, finished with a .379 batting average, homering five times, driving in 26 runs and scoring another 31. He also threw out nine would-be base stealers from his position behind the plate. 

Harmse, a freshman from Lumberton High School in Lumberton, came on strong in the latter part of the season after battling through an early injury. Harmse finished with a .365 batting average, three homers and 21 RBI in 20 games played. 

The Roadrunners finished their 2026 campaign with an overall record of 25-20 in head coach Jon Phillips’ first season at the helm. 

The email address for AC’s Sports Information Director is gstallard@angelina.edu.

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Gary Stallard
Gary Stallard
Sports Information Director Gary Stallard, who also serves as a Liberal Arts Instructor, begins his eleventh season with Angelina College. Following a career as a U.S. Marine, Stallard completed his bachelor’s degree at Stephen F. Austin University, where he majored in English and Journalism. For more than 16 years, he has worked as a sports writer/columnist/photographer for the Lufkin Daily News; he continues to contribute free-lance articles on occasion. Stallard has won several awards for writing, including the Golden Hoops Award for basketball writing in 2003, Regional Sports Writer of the Year in 2004, and the Texas Press Association’s first-place award for column writing in 2007 and in 2014. He has also done basketball, football and baseball radio and live streaming play-by- play and color commentary for an ESPN affiliate. Currently Stallard serves as play-by-play broadcaster for AC basketball, baseball and softball games. Prior to arriving at Angelina College, Stallard taught English at Lufkin High School for four years. He currently teaches Developmental Writing classes at AC. He and his wife Susan live in Lufkin.

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