Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado Mesa’s Rob Sharrar and Adams State’s Mike Bathauer are the 2024 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Co-Baseball Players of the Year, the league announced Wednesday. Their honor was announced alongside the league’s four other individual awards, the RMAC All-Conference rosters, the RMAC Gold Glove Team and the league’s honorable mention list. RMAC individual awards, all-conference teams and Gold Glove honorees are nominated and voted on by the league’s nine head coaches. Coaches are not permitted to vote for themselves or their student-athletes.
 
Bathauer is the first Adams State baseball player to earn the Player of the Year honor. He shares the award with Sharrar, who represents Colorado Mesa in the top performance award for the fourth year in a row. Bathauer stands among the RMAC’s top 10 in every offensive category after leading the Grizzlies to the RMAC Tournament for the first time since 2016. Sharrar claims a share of the award, also ranking among the league’s best in every offensive statistic. The Maverick outfielder was crucial in the team’s 12^th consecutive RMAC regular season crown, leading the league in hits and RBIs. Both student-athletes also earned a first-team all-conference nod, with Bathauer at shortstop and Sharrar as an outfielder.
 
Tyler Curtis takes the RMAC Pitcher of the Year nod, becoming the seventh Colorado State University Pueblo arm to win the award. Curtis was the league’s ERA leader with a 5.28 and tied for most wins in the RMAC, earning nine over the 2024 campaign. The ThunderWolves’ righthander joins Mike Fabrizio (2014), Shawn Martinez (2004), Don Clement (2003), Judd Songster (2001), Darrell O’Brian (1996) and current head coach Bobby Applegate (1994) in receiving the honor.
 
Colorado Mesa’s Ethan Nunez is the Freshman Position Player of the Year. Nunez played in 41 games for the Mavericks, slugged 11 doubles and 10 home runs. The Chino Hills, Calif., native hit .346 in the 2024 campaign and ranked among the RMAC’s top 15 in home runs, slugging percentage (.669) and on base plus slugging (1.127). The Maverick outfielder is the eighth CMU first year player to earn the award and the first non-pitcher to claim the honor since Jordan Stubbings did so for Mesa in 2018.
 
Andrew Rodriguez of New Mexico Highlands earns the Freshman Pitcher of the Year after his solid debut campaign. The righty from El Paso, Texas, hurled 53.2 innings for the Cowboys and logged one complete game on the mound. Additionally, in his final start of the season, Rodriguez guided New Mexico Highlands to their first shutout victory in four years. Rodriguez is the first Cowboy freshman in 24 years to receive a major award and highlights head coach Harry Estep’s first year in Las Vegas, N.M.
 
Bruce DelTondo earns the RMAC Coach of the Year distinction in his fourth season at the helm. DelTondo navigated the Grizzlies to a single-season, program-record 24 wins and just the third RMAC Tournament berth in the last century. The Adams State manager has guided his team to the best statistical offense in the league while boasting the first Co-Player of the Year in program history.
Colorado Mesa leads all teams with eight total all-conference selections, with a league-high four on the first team. MSU Denver follows with seven distinctions, while Colorado School of Mines and Regis each have three first-team nods. The Rangers check in with six total honorees, and the Orediggers earned five spots. Adams State also earned five selections, with two on the first team. CSU Pueblo and University of Colorado Colorado Springs rounded out the first team with one player apiece.
 
Seven different institutions had at least one member on the RMAC Gold Glove team, with Colorado Christian and Adams State each tied with two student-athletes. The Orediggers, Roadrunners, Mavericks, Mountain Lions and ThunderWolves each earned one player on the team to complete the nine-person defensive squad.
 
Postseason play gets underway in Grand Junction on Wednesday, May 8, at The Diamond at the Bus Bergman Sports Complex. Colorado School of Mines and Adams State square off in the tournament opener, now scheduled for noon MT. Regular season champions Colorado Mesa will face CSU Pueblo in the second game of the day, with Regis and MSU Denver closing out day one of the four-day event. Every game is available on the RMAC Network, with day passes starting at $9.95 to view the action, while a tournament pass can be purchased for $30.
 
Co-Players of the Year: Rob Sharrar, Colorado Mesa & Mike Bathauer, Adams State
Pitcher of the Year: Tyler Curtis, CSU Pueblo
Freshman Position Player of the Year: Ethan Nunez, Colorado Mesa
Freshman Pitcher of the Year: Andrew Rodriguez, New Mexico Highlands
Coach of the Year: Bruce DelTondo, Adams State
 

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