Carson-Newman Baseball Position Previews: Infielders
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Our second of three Carson-Newman baseball position previews takes a look at a strong group of infielders alongside senior Aiden Gibson.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Our second of three Carson-Newman baseball position previews takes a look at a strong group of infielders alongside senior Aiden Gibson.
Gibson is the only player on this Eagles roster that has been an impactful contributor for three years. The Cleveland, Tennessee native has 461 career at bats and is a career .254 hitter but is coming off a career-best .272 year at the plate where he tallied career-bests in hits (47), RBI (26), walks (34), doubles (9) and on-base percentage (.405).
Defensively, Gibson has been part of 43 double plays in 149 appearances and has a career .940 fielding percentage. In his first two seasons, he was used in multiple places, making four career starts at second, 32 at third and 55 at shortstop. But this past season, he settled in as C-N's everyday third baseman in 2025, making 50 starts at the hot corner.
"Starting as a freshman you are just trying to figure things out," Gibson said. "My role was kind of a bunt guy, move runners over and be really good at defense. As I've grown as a player and as a person, my role has switched and I'm more of a hybrid guy now. I still want to be exceptional on defense, but there can be occasions where I can swing for power, bunt or swipe a base or two."
Two All-SAC players make up the right side of Carson-Newman's infield for 2026.
Logan Floyd's sophomore season proved that his elite freshman season was not a fluke, leading C-N in most statistical hitting categories in 2025. Floyd earned All-SAC First Team honors at first base after posting team-best marks in batting average (.364), on-base percentage (.432), slugging (.505), hits (75), doubles (17), extra-base hits (21), and RBI (51). He also led the team with 22 multi-hit and 13 multi-RBI games. He hit safely in 24 straight games, the second-longest hitting streak by a C-N hitter in the program's DII history. During that 40-day stretch, Floyd hit .406 with 2 home runs, 21 RBI and scored 17 runs. He was also the only player to start and play in all 56 games.
Cole Nathan earned All-SAC Second Team honors at second base after posting the second-best batting average on the club, hitting .339 with 64 hits in 189 at bats. He had six extra-base hits, highlighted by a team-high four triples and tying for the team-high with four home runs. Nathan drove in 44 runs, second-most on the team and had 19 multi-hit and 12 multi-RBI games, both were second-most on the team.
"Floyd, ever since he has been here, has been exceptional," Gibson said. "He is one of the best hitters I have ever played with for sure. Cole is our energy guy. Whenever we need to lean on somebody to get us going, he is going to be the guy to make a play or get a big hit. They both can certainly do it all."
With 75 percent of C-N's infield set, that leaves shortstop available for Johno Pierce. The Brentwood native joins the Eagles after spending the past two seasons at Roane State Community College. The six foot three shortstop posted a .343 batting average with three home runs and 27 RBI in 2025. Pierce's speed was on full display as well, swiping 34 bases in 40 attempts.
"Johno is the full package," Gibson said. "He is a big guy that can move well and he has power. Just a complete utility guy, whether that is running, hitting, laying down a bunt or making a diving play in the six hole. Johno is perfect for this program at shortstop."
Tanner Kilgore headlines as another key returning player for Carson-Newman. He made 34 starts as C-N's designated hitter in 2025, hitting .313 with 33 RBI and tied for the team lead with four home runs.
The foursome of Floyd, Gibson, Kilgore and Nathan has combined for 365 career starts, with Gibson's 149 leading the way.
Juniors Trace Alexander, Evan Mutter and Alex Ring are all returning infielders as well. Alexander has four career at bats in two years. Mutter is the most experienced of this trio, with four career hits in nine at bats, appearing in 23 games in his career.
"This is definitely a veteran squad," Gibson said. "There is no excuses this year. This is a veteran group. Having as many returners as we do, our job is to help the new guys and get them ready to go because baseball season is close to 60 games. Anybody can go down at anytime. It's our job as older guys to get the younger guys ready and then to be conditioned to always play our best."
C-N has two utility players at its disposal in 2026 as well. Colton Evans has been with the program for two years but has yet to see game action because of injuries. In 2023 at Vincennes University, Evans hit .345 and drove in 50 runs.
Freshman Maddox Greene is also a utility option and joins the Eagles from Watagua High school where he was a three-time all-region player. Greene is a two-sport athlete at Carson-Newman, competing with the football team as well.
Two other newcomers to this position group is junior transfer Sean Strittmatter and freshman Sebastian Rodriguez. Strittmatter joins C-N from Cuesta College in California. This past season, the junior transfer hit .301 in 40 games and was sharp defensively, posting a .988 fielding percentage and helped turn 24 double plays.
Rodriguez is a six foot infielder from Greensboro, North Carolina. He flashed his potential throughout C-N's Orange and Navy Fall World Series, including a home run in the final game of the series.
"I could probably say 10 names off the top of my head of who could fill a role at any time," Gibson said. "We've got so many guys, especially this year, that we haven't had before. Our depth in the infield, outfield is filled with hitters."
The Carson-Newman baseball position previews wrap up on Saturday, January 24th with a preview of the pitchers and catchers with senior pitcher Jackson Underwood.
