Mercadante Named ASUN Coach Of The Year, Top-Seeded Baseball Earns ASUN Postseason Honors
5/18/2026 2:55:00 PM | Baseball
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Atlantic Sun Conference announced Monday that North Florida Baseball had six players earn 2026 ASUN Postseason awards.
North Florida's 2026 ASUN Postseason awards were highlighted by redshirt junior left-handed pitcher Dakota Stone's First Team All-ASUN honor and Head Coach Joe Mercadante's ASUN Coach of the Year award.
Junior infielder Mathew Farner and redshirt junior utility player Boone Hosey earned Second Team All-ASUN selections and junior outfielder Gialdri Gomez earned a Third Team All-ASUN nod.Â
Freshman right-handed pitcher Devin Diggs and redshirt freshman outfielder Sean Benjamin rounded out North Florida's postseason honors with ASUN All-Freshman awards.
Redshirt senior right-handed pitcher John Costa, senior right-handed pitcher Ryan Furey, redshirt junior left-handed pitcher Joseph Dimino, sophomore right-handed pitcher Trevor Nikolis, sophomore utility player Seth Alford and redshirt freshman Sean Benjamin collected Academic All-ASUN selections.
Mercadante led North Florida to the 2026 Graphite Division title, a 31-22 overall record and a conference-best 22-8 mark in ASUN play in just his third season at the helm of the program. Mercadante guided North Florida to its most ASUN wins since its Division I inception in 2006 and most single-season wins since 2019. He notched North Florida's best win percentage (.733) in conference play since 2015 (.762).
With Mercadante's leadership, North Florida won 12 of 14 weekend series, all eight home series and nine out of 10 ASUN Conference series. He led North Florida to its most ASUN series wins since the program's Division I inception in 2006.
Mercadante guided North Florida to four series sweeps, seven run-rule victories and secured series wins over all five ASUN opponents he faced.Â
With Mercadante at the helm, North Florida won its first six ASUN series to open conference play for the first time since 2013. Under Mercadante's tutelage, North Florida won six-straight series in ASUN play for the first time since 2015.
Prior to the 2026 season, Mercadante inked a top-50 (No. 48) recruiting class in the nation for the first time in program history, according to Perfect Game.
Left-handed pitcher Dakota Stone appeared in 14 games with 11 starts. Stone posted a 7-2 record in 74 and one third innings pitched with a 2.42 ERA, .198 opponent batting average, 1.18 WHIP and 95 strikeouts to earn First Team All ASUN honors. Stone allowed just 12 extra-base hits, 20 earned runs, 36 walks and 52 hits against 263 batters faced.
The Jacksonville, Fla., native finished the season with the second-lowest ERA in the ASUN and 29th lowest ERA in the nation. Also ranked second in the conference in strikeouts, opponent batting average, hits allowed per nine innings, strikeouts per nine innings and wins. Had the most batters struck out looking in the ASUN.
Stone ranked fifth in the conference in innings pitched and gave up the third-fewest runs and second-fewest home runs. He ranks top-50 nationally in strikeouts, strikeouts per nine innings and hits allowed per nine innings.
Stone had the lowest ERA on the team this season and also led the team in innings pitched, games started, wins, WHIP, strikeouts and opponent batting average.
He was just one of 41 pitchers in the nation to be named a College Baseball Foundation National Pitcher of the Year Semifinalist on April 22.
Stone tallied seven strikeouts or more in nine appearances and notched 10 strikeouts or more in four outings. Allowed two runs or less in 11 of his 14 appearances, including seven outings giving up one run or less. Stone posted three scoreless outings total this season.
The lefty pitcher, Stone, posted a career-high 11 strikeouts in 7.0 innings pitched while allowing just two runs and one walk at Queens on May 8. It marked his second time this season recording 10 strikeouts or more.
Stone dealt 10 strikeouts in 4.2 shutout innings and allowed just one hit and one walk against Sacred Heart on Feb. 14. He tallied six strikeouts on the road at Alabama on March 6. Stone registered nine strikeouts and allowed just two runs in 5.0 innings against Queens on April 2.
Junior infielder Mathew Farner started in all 53 games for North Florida. He ranks fourth in the ASUN in walks and fifth in stolen bases. Farner earned First Team All-ASUN honors and led the team in games started, OPS, runs, hits, home runs, total bases and assists in the field.
Farner ranked second on the team in RBI, doubles, slugging percentage, walks and stolen bases. He had the fifth-highest batting average on North Florida's roster.
Farner was named ASUN Player of the Week on March 2. He was also named a Top 50 (No. 48) shortstop in the nation in D1 Baseball's Week Six Player Rankings.
He had the fifth-most home runs in the ASUN and seventh-most doubles in the conference. He ranked 13th in the ASUN in RBI and 12th in total bases. Farner ranked 15th in the conference in slugging percentage.
In ASUN play, Farner posted 23 runs, 29 hits, seven doubles, five home runs, 16 RBI, 51 total bases, 21 walks, seven stolen bases, a .486 slugging percentage and a .403 on-base percentage.Â
Farner tallied a hit in 37 of his 53 games played. He had 15 multi-hit games and three games with three hits or more. Farner had an eight-game hit streak to open the season and had a six-game hit streak to close the regular season. Farner had two RBI or more in 11 games and three RBI or more in five games.
He went 3-4 with five RBI, three runs, one home run and two walks against Presbyterian on Feb. 27. Farner went 1-3 with three RBI, two runs and two walks at Florida A&M on Feb. 18.
Farner hit a leadoff home run to left-center field on the second pitch of the game at No. 21 Florida State on Feb. 25. Farner finished the game at No. 21 FSU 2-4 with three RBI, two runs, two walks and one homer.
Redshirt junior Boone Hosey played in 47 games with 45 starts. Led the team with 39 walks and a .459 on-base percentage. Hosey earned Second Team All ASUN honors and ranked inside the top-four on North Florida's roster with a .313 batting average, 33 runs, 71 total bases, .473 slugging and a .932 OPS.Â
Hosey posted 47 hits, 10 doubles, 25 RBI, four home runs and four stolen bases. Defensively, Hosey tallied 112 put outs in 125 chances. He notched 11 assists and a .984 fielding percentage. Caught three runners stealing.
Hosey ranked second in the conference in walks and ranked fourth in the ASUN in on-base percentage.
Hosey had a 33-game on-base streak and a 16-game hit streak this season. He posted a hit in 34 of his 47 games played. He registered 12 multi-hit games. Hosey reached base safely in 43 of his 47 games played.
In ASUN play, Hosey led the team with a .354 batting average. In conference play, Hosey registered 41 total bases, 29 hits, 22 walks, 15 runs, 14 RBI, six doubles, two home runs, a .491 on-base percentage, a .500 slugging percentage and a .991 OPS.
Hosey went 2-5 with two RBI, one home run and three runs against Presbyterian on Feb. 28 and 3-4 with three RBI and two runs against Presbyterian on March 1. He had a 1-4 outing with three RBI and one home run at Queens on May 9. It marked Hosey's ninth home run this season.Â
The redshirt junior, Hosey, went 2-4 with two RBI against Jacksonville on May 2. Hosey improved his on-base streak to 32 games and secured his 11th multi-hit game this season against JU on May 2.
Junior outfielder Gialdri Gomez earned Third Team All-ASUN honors and led North Florida's roster with the highest batting average on the team (.336). Gomez ranked top-10 in the ASUN in batting average.
Gomez played in 45 games with 42 starts. Gomez posted a .945 OPS, 74 total bases, 49 hits, 33 runs, 27 RBI, 21 walks, 10 doubles, five home runs and five stolen bases. He had a .507 slugging percentage, .438 on-base percentage and .945 OPS.
Gomez tallied a hit in 32 of his 45 games played. He notched 14 multi-hit games.Â
Gomez went 2-4 with three RBI and one run against FGCU on March 21. He went 3-4 with three RBI and one run at Queens on May 10.
Freshman right-handed pitcher Devin Diggs has appeared in 16 games with one start. Earned a spot on the ASUN All-Freshman team and ranked second on North Florida's roster in saves.Â
Diggs has the third-lowest WHIP on North Florida's pitching staff. Posted a 4.30 ERA with a 2-1 record across 29.1 innings pitched. Registered a .215 opponent batting average against 107 batters faced. Recorded 32 strikeouts and allowed just 10 walks and 14 earned runs.
In ASUN Conference play, Diggs had a 2.77 ERA and a 1-0 record across six appearances and 13.0 innings pitched. Against conference opponents, Diggs tallied 14 strikeouts and allowed just four earned runs and four walks with a .213 opponent batting average.
Diggs had four strikeouts or more in five of his 16 appearances. He didn't allow a run in six of his 16 appearances. Diggs posted a career-high four strikeouts in 3.0 no-hit innings while allowing just one run against Charleston Southern on Feb. 17.Â
Redshirt freshman Sean Benjamin played in 48 games with 45 starts. Earned ASUN All-Freshman team honors and led the team in doubles. He ranks third in the ASUN in doubles. Benjamin has the second-highest batting average on North Florida's roster and has the 23rd highest batting average in the ASUN (.319).Â
Benjamin recorded the second-most hits on the team. He ranks fifth on the team in on-base percentage. Benjamin posted 69 total bases, 21 RBI, 18 walks, a .416 slugging percentage and an .817 OPS.
In ASUN play, Benjamin posted the third-highest batting average on the team (.308). Against ASUN opponents, Benjamin posted 38 total bases, 28 hits, 15 runs, 11 RBI, 10 doubles, 11 walks and a .381 on-base percentage.
Benjamin had a hit in 36 of his 48 games played. Registered 15 multi-hit games. Had three five-game hit streaks and one eight game-hit streak. Recorded two or more RBI in four games.
Benjamin had a 2-4 outing with two RBI and one run against Sacred Heart on Feb. 14 He went 2-4 with three RBI, one run and one walk at Florida A&M on Feb. 18. Benjamin notched a 3-5 outing with one RBI and one run against Presbyterian on Feb. 18. He had a 3-4 game with three RBI, one run and one walk at Queens on May 8.
North Florida will be the top seed in the 2026 ASUN Baseball Championship. With the ASUN Graphite Division clinched, the Ospreys secured themselves a top-two seed and a double-bye in the conference tournament.Â
North Florida will play its first ASUN Tournament game on Thursday, May 21 against either North Alabama, Austin Peay or Jacksonville in DeLand, Fla., at Melching Field at 10 a.m. ET.
