Greenville, S.C. – Western Carolina junior outfielder Brayden Corn today collected Southern Conference All-Tournament team plaudits as voted on by members of the media following Sunday's championship game at Fluor Field.
 
Corn helped guide the Catamounts out of Wednesday's single-elimination game and into the double-elimination winner's bracket after upsetting fourth-seeded Mercer. WCU battled top-seeded ETSU and No. 3 seed The Citadel into the final inning. Corn is WCU's first all-tournament team selection since 2022 when Zack Ketterman garnered the plaudit.
 
Corn hit a team-best .538 (7-of-13) over WCU's four games at Fluor Field with four of his seven hits going for extra bases, including a double and an event-high tying three home runs. He scored a tournament-best nine runs while driving in six for the Catamounts. He added four walks and was hit by a pitch four times to bolster his .682 on-base percentage.
 
In WCU's opener against VMI, Corn went 3-for-3 with a two-run home run and a sacrifice fly to account for three RBI as the Catamounts ousted No. 8 VMI to advance into the double-elimination portion of the tournament. The Hendersonville, N.C., product added his second two-run homer of the tournament in the 10-3 upset win over fourth-seeded Mercer, finishing 1-for-4 and reaching twice on a pair of HBPs.

Corn reached base four times against top-seed ETSU, finishing 1-for-3 with a pair of runs scored, also reaching on a walk and was plunked twice in WCU's near-miss against the Bucs, 16-13. Then, in what ended up being WCU's final game at the year-end classic, Corn reached base four times in a 2-for-3 effort with a double and his third homer, scoring three times, including once in the ninth and plating another in the tight 11-10 defeat.
 
Western Carolina hit a tournament-best .382 over its four games in the Upstate of South Carolina, with an event-best 58 hits, including 23 for extra bases with 11 doubles, three triples, and a tourney-high nine home runs for a 1.308 slugging percentage. The Catamounts also scored an event-best 48 runs, averaging 12 per game over the four games played at Fluor Field. WCU moved to 82-64 over 40 appearances at the conference champion-crowning event, including a 17-22 mark in Greenville, S.C. The 2025 Catamounts halted a five-game losing skid that dated back to 2022 by winning its first two games.
 
Regular-season champion ETSU rallied past second-seeded Samford to win its first-ever SoCon baseball tournament championship on Sunday afternoon, 7-5, at Fluor Field. The Buccaneers trailed 5-1 through four complete innings and outscored the Bulldogs by six to close the final five frames. The tournament champ, ETSU led the way with five selected to the SoCon All-Tournament team, headlined by the Most Outstanding Performer, designated hitter Cooper Torres.
 
Runner-up Samford had four selected, followed by two apiece from No. 4 seed Mercer and No. 3 seed The Citadel. Western Carolina and seventh-seeded Wofford had a player honored, the only two from teams that did not advance into one of Saturday's games.
 
Keep track of everything related to Catamount baseball and WCU Athletics through social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/CatamountSports), Twitter (@Catamounts, @CatamountBSB), and Instagram (wcu_catamounts, catamountbsb).
 
2025 SoCon All-Tournament Team:
SP - Mason Blasche, Samford
SP - Colton Cosper, Mercer
SP - Alec Bouchard, Wofford
RP - Evan Steckmesser, Samford
RP - Terry Busse, Mercer
RP - Brady Frederick, ETSU
C - JD Yakubinis, ETSU
1B - Jackson Harris, Samford
2B - Travis Elliott, The Citadel
SS - Cody Miller, ETSU
3B - Aryan Patel, The Citadel
OF - Brayden Corn, Western Carolina
OF - Axel Melendez, ETSU
OF - Jake Souder, Samford
DH - Cooper Torres, ETSU
 
Walt Nazdak Award (Tournament Most Outstanding Player): Cooper Torres, ETSU
Knight Commission Pinnacle Award: Tristan Curless, Sr., 1B, ETSU
* highest GPA on the championship-winning team