Jose Diaz (SR/Pinar del Rio, Cuba) and Brett Vasquez (SO/Mont Belvieu, Texas) were named to the NAIA All-American Honorable Mention team.

This marks the first time in Saints history for a member of the baseball team to receive NAIA All-American honors. In 2019, Diaz was named an NAIA Player to Watch. At the beginning of the 2021 season, he was selected as an NAIA Preseason All-American. Diaz was named the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Player of the Year, while Vasquez received RRAC Pitcher of the Year honors.

Diaz led the Saints with a .374 batting average and 11 steals. He tallied a career-high 45 RBIs and 16 doubles. Diaz also combined for a no-hitter with Alec Martinez (JR/Corpus Christi, Texas) against LSU-Shreveport on March 26.

Diaz ends his baseball career at OLLU with several all-time records including games played at 231, at-bats with 774 total runs with 175, hits with 260, doubles with 54, home runs with 17, RBIs with 163, total bases with 379 and stolen bases with 70.

Vasquez won nine games on the mound this season, setting a program record previously held by Jordan Hackett in 2016 with eight victories. He totaled 70 strikeouts including three straight starts fanning eight batters.

Head Coach Bryan Aughney commented, “I’m very excited for both Jose and Brett for their great individual accomplishments. Jose has been a mainstay in our program and has continually progressed as a baseball player. His work ethic and love for the game has been fun to be a part of. Brett really put in some work over the last 18 months. He is very driven and I’m excited to see what he does in the future.”

The Saints shined in their most impressive season to date with 34 wins and were crowned the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) regular-season champions. OLLU made its first appearance in the NAIA National Championships and lost in the opening round.