FLORENCE, SC – Francis Marion University redshirt junior right fielder Charlie Bussey III and junior designated hitter Ethan McAnally earned National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) First-Team All-America honors following a standout 2026 season.

Bussey III earned All-America Team honors from the NCBWA for a consecutive season after being an honorable mention selection in 2025. This season, he repeated as the Conference Carolinas Player of the Year while capturing the NCBWA and Division II Conference Commissioners' Association (D2CCA) Southeast Region Player of the Year. Bussey III also garnered First-Team All-Region status from both organizations and was named to the All-Conference Carolinas First-Team and All-Defensive Team as an outfielder.

A native of Graniteville, S.C., Bussey III recently concluded one of the best statistical seasons in NCAA Division II history. He is one of only three players in DII history to eclipse 100 hits and 100 runs scored in a single season, joining Joe Dimberger, Colorado Mesa (2004), and Mackenzie Wainwright, Lenoir-Rhyne (2025). He established a new Division II record with 118 runs scored and 1.97 runs scored per game in a season. Bussey III also finished in a tie for 10th all-time with 113 hits in a single season.

He leads the country in batting average (.489), hits (113), on-base percentage (.604), runs scored (118), and total bases (200) while ranking fourth in slugging percentage (.866) and fifth in walks (57). Bussey III reached base safely in 58-of-60 games played while leading the team with 38 multi-hit games. He is the program's all-time home run leader with 35 and has set single-season records for batting average, hits, runs scored, slugging percentage, total bases, and walks.
                     
McAnally captured All-American distinction in his first season with the Patriots. He garnered NCWBA and D2CCA First-Team All-Region as a designated hitter while also receiving first-team all-conference status. McAnally ranks second in the nation with 104 runs batted in, tied for the second-most in a single season in NCAA Division II baseball history. Additionally, in the national rankings, he sits third in home runs (24), fourth in total bases (190), sixth in runs scored (84), seventh in slugging percentage (.848), and eighth in hits (95). McAnally paced the team with 27 multi-RBI games and finished the year with a 45-game reached base streak. He reached base safely in 58-of-60 games while setting the FMU single-season record in home runs and runs batted in.

The Patriots made their first-ever trip to Super Regionals in 2026 and posted an impressive 46-14 overall record, a new program record for wins in a single season. Francis Marion finished second in the Conference Carolinas regular season standings and earned an NCAA Tournament appearance for the first time since 2012.

Bussey III is a sports management major and a product of Aquinas High School, while McAnally is a mechanical engineering major and a graduate of J.M. Tate High School.

   
  Charlie Bussey III         Ethan McAnally