CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — The Appalachian League announced the 2026 All-Appalachian League Team. The 2026 team is highlighted by Burlington’s Brandon Novy, the Player of the Year, and Johnson City’s Julien Hachem, the Pitcher of the Year.
The All-Appalachian League Team features one catcher, five infielders, four outfielders, one designated hitter, three pitchers and a two-way player. The Danville Otterbots lead all clubs with four selections. The Johnson City Doughboys have three selections, while the Burlington Sock Puppets, Greeneville Flyboys and Kingsport Axmen all have two. Thirteen of the 15 selections are committed to a Division I school, and nine are committed to a Power 4 school.
2026 All-Appalachian League Team
Position; Name; Team (2026-27 Commitment)
C: Cash Williams, Kingsport (West Virginia)
Williams reached base in 32 of 33 games played while slashing .385/.494/.672 with a 1.166 OPS. He collected 47 hits in 122 at-bats, including seven home runs, 12 doubles and a triple, while driving in 35 runs and scoring 33 times. Williams also drew 24 walks and went 14-for-18 on stolen base attempts. Behind the plate, he threw out a league-best 11 runners attempting to steal. Williams was also tied for the league lead in doubles, second in OPS, tied for second in SLG and extra-base hits (20), fourth in total bases (82), tied for fourth in home runs and fifth in AVG.
Williams was the only player in the league to record multiple hit streaks of at least 10 games, posting a 12-game hit streak from June 6-25 during which he batted .362. Williams finished the season hitting .451 during his 14-game hit streak from July 9-30, which tied the league’s fourth longest streak this year. Williams was a member of the Appy League Select Team.
1B: Deacon Pomeroy, Burlington (Oklahoma State)
Pomeroy drove in 52 runs, the third-highest single-season total in league history. In 36 games, he hit .373/.470/.582 with a 1.052 OPS. Pomeroy led the league with 57 hits while adding seven home runs, nine doubles, one triple, 42 runs scored, 25 walks and one stolen base. Pomeroy was second in the league in RBI, third in total bases (89), fourth in runs scored and tied for fourth in home runs.
Pomeroy was the only player in the league to record multiple five-hit games this summer. He was the Player of the Week for June 29-July 5, when he slashed .538/.600/.808 with 14 hits, two home runs and 11 RBI in six games. Pomeroy was a member of the Appy League Select Team.
MIF: Maximo Martinez, Danville (Southern California)
Martinez led the league with a .527 OBP, the third-highest mark in a single-season in league history. The infielder slashed .393/.527/.580 with a 1.107 OPS in 33 games. He finished 44-for-112 with three home runs, 12 doubles, 24 RBI and 35 runs scored. In 150 plate appearances, he drew 25 walks to just 14 strikeouts and went 15-for-16 on stolen base attempts. Martinez tied for the league lead in doubles, and he also finished third in AVG and fourth in OPS.
Martinez reached base in 28 consecutive games from June 24-July 30, tying for the fifth longest on-base streak in the league this summer. He also stole four bases on July 4, which tied for the most in a single-game by a player in the league this season.
MIF: Gunner Skelton, Johnson City (Vanderbilt)
Skelton made an immediate impact hitting five home runs over his first seven games played this season. The infielder hit .386/.434/.700 with a 1.134 OPS in 15 games. He went 27-for-70 with five home runs, seven doubles, 15 RBI, 17 runs scored, six walks and two stolen bases.
Skelton was the league’s Player of the Month for June after slashing .389/.421/.741 with a 1.162 OPS, five home runs and 11 RBI in 11 games. Skelton attended the 2026 MLB Draft Combine in Phoenix from June 23-26 and was a member of the Appy League Select Team.
3B: Brandon Novy, Burlington (North Carolina State)
The 2026 Player of the Year posted a 1.184 OPS, the third-highest single-season mark in league history. Novy slashed .394/.512/.672 in 35 games, finishing 54-for-137 with nine home runs, 11 doubles, 45 RBI, 34 runs scored, 30 walks and two stolen bases. Novy led the league in OPS and total bases (92). He finished second in AVG, hits and home runs, tied for second in SLG and extra-base hits (20), third in OBP and RBI and tied for fourth in doubles.
Novy ended the season on a 14-game hit streak from July 4-29, tied for the fourth longest hit streak in the league this summer. He hit .438 (28-for-58) with four home runs, six doubles and 27 RBI during the streak. Novy was a member of the Appy League Select Team.
UTL IF: Matt Cash, Greeneville (Jacksonville State)
Cash finished with a .413 AVG which set a new single-season record. He slashed .413/.510/.524 with a 1.034 OPS across 33 games, going 52-for-126 with one home run, seven doubles, two triples, 31 RBI and 22 runs scored. Cash also drew 19 walks and struck out just nine times in 157 plate appearances and added 15 stolen bases on 17 attempts. Cash finished third in hits and fourth in OBP.
Cash had 15 multi-hit games, five three-hit games and two four-hit games. On June 16 against Johnson City, he went 4-for-6 with a home run and a season-high five RBI.
OF: Nate Eisfelder, Johnson City (Indiana)
Eisfelder led the league with 11 home runs and 23 extra-base hits. The outfielder slashed .321/.477/.672 with a 1.149 OPS in 39 games. Eisfelder went 43-for-134 with 10 doubles, two triples, 41 RBI and 41 runs scored. He also drew 36 walks and was successful on all five of his stolen base attempts. Eisfelder finished second in the league in total bases (90), tied for second in SLG, third in OPS, fourth in RBI and fifth in runs scored and walks.
Ten of Eisfelder’s league-leading 11 home runs were hit in July, earning him Player of the Month honors. During the final month of the season, he hit .365/.520/.851 with a 1.371 OPS, 27 hits, 10 home runs, six doubles and 33 RBI. Eisfelder was also the league’s Player of the Week twice for the periods of July 13-19 and July 27-30.
OF: Matthew Kerrigan, Greeneville (Auburn)
Kerrigan slashed .325/.449/.430 with an .879 OPS in 40 games. The outfielder went 49-for-151 with four home runs, four doubles, 26 RBI and 35 runs scored. Kerrigan drew 31 walks in 185 plate appearances and went 14-for-18 on stolen base attempts. Kerrigan finished fourth in the league in hits.
Kerrigan began the season with back-to-back three-hit, two-RBI performances in Elizabethton on June 4-5. He recorded 16 multi-hit games and five three-hit games in 2026. He drew a walk in 10 consecutive games from June 21-July 7, tied for the second longest streak in the league during the season. Kerrigan was a member of the Appy League Select Team.
OF: Kyle Krupp, Danville (Morehead State)
Krupp hit .376/.493/.459 with a .952 OPS in 31 games. He finished 41-for-109 with three doubles, three triples, 28 RBI and 32 runs scored. In 136 plate appearances, Krupp walked 24 times against 14 strikeouts and went 14-for-19 on stolen base attempts. Krupp was third in the league in triples.
Krupp recorded 12 multi-hit games and four three-hit performances. He reached base five times on July 4 in Burlington, going 3-for-4 with four RBI, two walks and a steal. He was a member of the Appy League Select Team.
UTL OF: Luke Romine, Pulaski (Ole Miss)
Romine reached base in all 23 games he played, finishing the season with a .319/.545/.569 slash line. He went 23-for-72 with a 1.114 OPS, five home runs, three doubles, 30 RBI, 29 runs scored, 31 walks and two stolen bases.
In his first three games of the season, Romine went 6-for-7 (.857) with a 2.786 OPS, two home runs, one double and seven RBI en route to June 15-21 Player of the Week honors. He was a member of the Appy League Select Team.
DH: Devon Wilkes, Danville (Cal State - Bakersfield)
Wilkes drove in 53 runs in just 24 games, the second-most RBI in a single-season in league history. He went 36-for-99 and slashed .364/.405/.677 with a 1.082 OPS, seven home runs, eight doubles, one triple, 21 runs scored, six walks and four stolen bases. Wilkes struck out just nine times in 116 plate appearances. He led the league in RBI and SLG, was tied for fourth in home runs and fifth in OPS.
Wilkes was the only player in the league to record multiple streaks of at least eight consecutive games with an RBI. He drove in 18 runs over his first eight games from July 1-8 and 25 runs over his final nine games from July 18-30. In his season debut on July 1 in Bluefield, Wilkes hit two home runs and had six RBI. On July 25 in Johnson City, Wilkes went 5-for-5 with three doubles, a walk and a single-game-high eight RBI.
Two-Way: Seth Farni, Kingsport (Murray State)
As a hitter, Farni slashed .373/.562/.576 with a 1.138 OPS in 26 games. He went 22-for-59 with two home runs, six doubles, 13 RBI, 23 runs scored and was successful in all five of his stolen base attempts. In 89 plate appearances, Farni walked 24 times and struck out just 10 times.
As a pitcher, Farni had a 4.26 ERA over 10 appearances (three starts). In 25 1/3 innings, the left-hander struck out 28 hitters. After posting a 5.54 ERA in six June appearances, Farni had a 2.92 ERA in July. Over the final month, he struck out 13 in 12 1/3 innings and surrendered just four earned runs over four appearances (three starts).
RHP: Porter Gobble, Elizabethton (Walters State CC)
Gobble went 4-1 with a 2.52 ERA in nine appearances (six starts). The River Riders right-hander struck out 22 hitters across 35 2/3 innings, while allowing 10 earned runs, 31 hits and 15 walks. Gobble tied for the league lead with two quality starts. He also finished second in ERA, tied for second in wins, third in innings pitched and WHIP (1.29) and fourth in opponent’s batting average (.237).
Gobble recorded his first quality start on July 3 against Greeneville, allowing two runs over six innings while striking out a season-high five. His second quality start was July 15 in Danville when he surrendered two earned runs in six innings with three strikeouts.
LHP: Kamden Hawks, Danville (Louisville)
Hawks went 1-0 with a 2.82 ERA in seven appearances (six starts). The Otterbots left-hander struck out 21 in 22 1/3 innings, allowing seven earned runs, 10 hits and 10 walks. Hawks held opposing hitters to a .132 batting average and posted a 0.90 WHIP. Hawks was dominant to start the season, allowing just one hit and no runs in 12 innings over his first three starts.
Hawks was the Pitcher of the Month for June after compiling a 1.69 ERA and 16 strikeouts to just two walks over 16 innings pitched. In four June starts he held opposing hitters to a .061 batting average and had a 0.31 WHIP. He was also the Pitcher of the Week for June 4-6 and a member of the Appy League Select Team.
Reliever: Julien Hachem, Johnson City (Signed Professional Contract)
The 2026 Pitcher of the Year went 3-1 with two saves and a 2.10 ERA in 14 appearances. The left-hander struck out 35 in 25 2/3 innings, allowing six earned runs on 16 hits and 14 walks. Hachem led the league in ERA, WHIP (1.17), opponent’s batting average (.176) and strikeouts per nine innings (12.27). He was tied for second in games finished (7), tied for fourth in strikeouts and saves and tied for fifth in appearances.
Hachem earned the win after pitching a perfect inning with two strikeouts in the Doughboys’ 4-3 exhibition game victory against the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Stars on June 28. He was the Pitcher of the Week for July 6-12. Hachem came to the Appy League from Erskine College and has since signed with the Pioneer League’s Modesto Roadsters, he has a 3.60 ERA and nine strikeouts through six professional appearances.
About the Appalachian League
Founded in 1911, the Appalachian League is one of the longest-running baseball leagues in history. The Appy League is the only collegiate summer league under MLB and USA Baseball’s Prospect Development Pipeline (“PDP”) and is an integral part of the identification and development process for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Teams and other future National teams.
For more information about the Appalachian League, visit appyleague.com or follow @appyleague and @appyleaguedata on X, and @appyleague on Instagram.
