FLORENCE, SC – Francis Marion University redshirt junior right fielder Charlie Bussey III captured another major award this postseason after being named Co-Player of the Year by Perfect Game following another breakout season. Pittsburg State University senior outfielder Dagen Brewer also received the honor.

Bussey III was recently named the D2 Baseball National Player of the Year after being a consensus First-Team All-American by all four major organizations. Additionally, he garnered Southeast Region Player of the Year three times (ABCA, D2CCA, NCBWA) and repeated as the Conference Carolinas Player of the Year. Bussey III is currently in the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL), one of the nation's premier collegiate wooden bat leagues, playing for the Harwich Mariners.

This season, he became one of only three players in NCAA Division II history to eclipse 100 hits and 100 runs scored in a single season. He shattered the Division II record for runs scored with 118 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 led the country in batting average (.489), hits (113), on-base percentage (.604), runs scored (118), and total bases (200) while ranking fifth in slugging percentage (.866) and sixth 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.

Brewer of Pittsburg State batted .442 on the season with 87 runs scored, 24 doubles, 25 home runs and a Division II single-season record 107 RBI in 56 games played.

As a team, the Patriots finished the year as the seventh-ranked program in the country according to the final D2 Baseball and ABCA national polls. Francis Marion delivered a historic campaign after posting a 46-14 overall mark and setting a new record for wins in a single season. FMU earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, its first appearance since 2012, and advanced to its first-ever Super Regional. The Patriots featured one of the best offenses in the nation, leading the country with 669 runs scored, the third-most in Division II history.


  Charlie Bussey III