LOCK HAVEN, Pa. (May 7) – California (PA) junior
Payton Conte was voted the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West Athlete of the Year and headlined a trio of players named to the All-PSAC West First-Team on Tuesday afternoon.
Conte was selected to the All-PSAC West First-Team for the first time in his career, while junior outfielder
Ryan Callahan and sophomore relief pitcher
Jake Kramer garnered All-PSAC West laurels for a consecutive season. The Vulcans featured at least three All-PSAC West First-Team honorees for the third time in four years.
A native of California, Conte becomes the program's first PSAC West Athlete of the Year since 2019 and the ninth under longtime head coach
Mike Conte – his father. He leads the league and ranks fourth in NCAA Division II with a .469 average (46-for-98) to eclipse the single-season school record held for 55 years by Denny Brown (.462, 1969). Conte also paced the team with a .526 on-base percentage and a .663 slugging percentage despite battling injuries for the majority of the season. The 6-foot-4 junior collected a team-best 15 multi-hit games while hitting primarily No. 5 in the lineup. Conte, who entered the year with a .305 career average (67-for-220), received All-PSAC West status at designated hitter where he made all 21 starts in divisional play.
Callahan earned All-PSAC West First-Team honors after being a second-team selection last spring. He led the team with 40 RBI and 34 runs scored while hitting at a .366 clip (60-for-164) – an 85-point improvement from his sophomore year. Callahan also belted a team-best five homers while finishing second on the team with a .537 slugging percentage and a .434 on-base percentage.
As a sophomore, Kramer broke a 40-year old single-season school record and led the PSAC with 10 saves. He received All-PSAC West First-Team accolades after being tabbed a second-team honoree in 2023. Kramer also posted a 4-1 record and a 1.47 ERA over 20 relief appearances this spring. The Greensburg native ranks fifth in the country in saves while working 30.2 innings pitched.
The Vulcans finished the 2024 season with a 28-18 overall record and ranked fifth in the PSAC West standings with a 14-14 mark in league play.
