Cougar Baseball Collect Multiple ACCAC Division II Awards
COMPLETE 2025 ALL-ACCAC BASEBALL TEAMS
PHOENIX ---
The South Mountain Community College baseball team won multiple major awards and received multiple First Team All-ACCAC Division II honors for its play on the field during the 2025 season. Sophomore Raul Parada received Player of the Year honors, sophomore Luis Martin Romero earned Pitcher of the Year honors, SMCC head coach Todd Eastin received Coach of the Year honors, and Luke Jones, Bobby Pierce Jr., Joe Terranova, and Bryan Lorenz joined Parada and Romero in receiving First Team All-ACCAC Division II honors. Sophomore relief pitcher Matt Elliot earned Second Team honors, and Jones, Romero, and Terranova received Rawlings Gold Glove Nominations.
Raul Parada --- ACCAC Division II Player of the Year | First Team All-ACCAC Division II | First Team NJCAA All-Region I
Parada enjoyed a stellar sophomore season and earned Player of the Year honors. He finished the year batting .410 with a 1.075 OPS (.481 OBP + .594 SLG) in 56 games this season, totaling 56 runs, 87 hits, 23 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 60 RBIs, 26 walks, and five stolen bases.
He led all ACCAC players, regardless of Division, in doubles and led all Division II players in RBIs. He also finished third among all Division II players in batting average, seventh in runs scored, and second in hits. He led the Cougars with 29 multi-hit and 17 multi-RBI games and posted a 12-game hitting streak during the year.
Parada went a perfect 5 for 5 with two doubles, three RBIs, two runs, and a walk in an April 12 victory at Scottsdale CC. He drove in a career-high three RBIs on six occasions, and he finished with 47 runs, 18 doubles, two triples, two home runs, 45 RBIs, 18 walks, five stolen bases, and a .422 batting average in 40 ACCAC Division II games.
Luis Martin Romero --- ACCAC Division II Pitcher of the Year | First Team All-ACCAC Division II | First Team NJCAA All-Region I Division II | Gold Glove Nomination
Romero turned in an impressive season on the mound for SMCC, posting an 8-1 record with one save, 53 strikeouts, 19 walks, 32 runs (22 earned), and a 3.21 ERA in 61.2 innings. He held opponents to a .251 batting average and recorded two complete games.
All eight of Romero's victories came against ACCAC Division II opponents. He posted seven strikeouts against GateWay CC on February 19 and Chandler-Gilbert CC on February 26. He also earned victories over Pima CC, Phoenix College, Mesa CC, Paradise Valley CC, and Scottsdale CC.
Romero recorded a save with 3.1 innings of relief work against Scottsdale CC on February 7 and recorded seven shutout innings with three K's against PVCC on March 26. He also posted a perfect fielding percentage for the season.
Luke Jones --- First Team All-ACCAC Division II | First Team NJCAA All-Region I Division II | Gold Glove Nomination
A sophomore catcher from Gilbert, Ariz., Jones led the Cougars and finished second among all ACCAC Division II players with a .414 batting average in 45 games. He recorded 48 hits, 38 runs, 14 doubles, one home run, 46 RBIs, 27 walks, and 10 stolen bases to produce a team-best 1.124 OPS (.564 OBP + .560 SLG) for the year.
Jones saved some of his best work for conference opponents, producing an identical .414 batting average with 31 runs, 36 hits, 11 doubles, one home run, 36 RBIs, 25 walks, and nine stolen bases in 34 games. He had 11 multi-hit games, including four games with a career-high three hits, and 14 multi-RBI games, including a career-high four RBIs three times. He had two doubles, runs, and RBIs in a win over Chandler-Gilbert CC on March 29.
Jones recorded a .996 fielding percentage in 235 chances during the year. He caught 17 runners trying to steal a base and finished the year with 22 assists and 212 putouts.
Joe Terranova --- First Team All-ACCAC Division II | First Team NJCAA All-Region I Division II | Gold Glove Nomination
An infielder from Mesa, Ariz., Terranova earned First Team All-Conference and All-Region honors after an outstanding season. He batted .369 with 61 runs, 69 hits, 21 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 45 RBIs, 31 walks, and 21 stolen bases. He led SMCC in stolen bases to rank third among all Division II players, and his 21 doubles trailed only his teammate Parada.
Terranova batted .396 with 59 hits, 50 runs, 17 doubles, one triple, two home runs, 33 RBIs, 28 walks, and 20 stolen bases in 40 conference games. He had 17 multi-hit games and went a perfect 5 for 5 with three doubles, two runs, two RBIs, and a walk at GateWay CC on February 18. He drove in a career-high five runs in a victory over Madison College on March 16 and stole a career-high three bases in a win at Mesa CC on March 1.
Terranova posted a .939 fielding percentage in 163 chances between second and third base. He helped turn 17 double plays and finished the year with 62 putouts and 91 assists.
Bobby Pierce Jr. --- First Team All-ACCAC Division II | First Team NJCAA All-Region I Division II
Pierce Jr. entrenched himself at shortstop at the beginning of the year and never looked back en route to First Team All-Conference and All-Region honors. He batted .367 with 62 runs, 76 hits, 15 doubles, four triples, two home runs, 29 RBIs, 38 walks, and 12 stolen bases in 54 games. He finished with a .991 OPS (.484 OBP + .507 SLG) for the year but raised it to 1.023 (.503 OBP + .523 SLG) in 39 conference games thanks to 14 doubles, three triples, one home run, and 32 walks in 39 contests.
Pierce Jr. was second on the team with 23 multi-hit games, including a five-hit performance against PVCC on February 21. He had six multi-RBI games and had a career-high three RBIs in a win over Monroe CC on March 10. Pierce Jr. had two doubles and three runs in a win over Mesa CC on February 28 and posted a double, a triple, and two runs in a win at Scottsdale CC on April 12.
He finished the regular season third in hits, tied for fourth in runs, and tied for 10th in doubles among all ACCAC players regardless of Division.
Bryan Lorenz --- First Team All-ACCAC Division II | First Team NJCAA All-Region I Division II
Lorenz was an imposing threat for the Cougar offense all season, finishing with a .345 batting average and a .941 OPS (.429 OBP + .512) in 55 games. He added to that 54 runs, 70 hits, 10 doubles, three triples, six home runs, 51 RBIs, 26 walks, and seven stolen bases. Against ACCAC Division II opposition, Lorenz finished with a .359 batting average, 1.004 OPS (.446 OBP + .558 SLG), 43 runs, nine doubles, two triples, six home runs, and 45 RBIs.
He posted 21 multi-hit games, including six three-hit games, and 15 multi-RBI games, including a career-high five RBIs and two home runs in a victory at Mesa CC on February 28. He scored a career-high three runs, plus a double and a home run, in a win over Glendale CC on February 14. He finished ninth among all ACCAC players in hits and tied for ninth in RBIs.
Matt Elliot --- Second Team All-ACCAC Division II | Second Team NJCAA All-Region I Division II
The team's closer, Elliott, finished the year with six saves and a 2.29 ERA in 19.2 innings to earn Second-Team All-Conference and All-Region honors. He tied for the conference lead with six saves and fanned 20 batters over 16 appearances.
Elliot posted saves over Scottsdale CC, Glendale CC (twice), PVCC (twice), and Mesa CC. Elliot recorded a career-high five strikeouts in 2.1 innings at Southern Nevada on January 28, and he held opponents to a .197 batting average.
Eastin is in his 22nd season as the baseball head coach and his 15th year as Athletic Director at SMCC. He is approaching 800 victories for his career.