After long postseason runs, Spanish Fort head coach JD Pruitt and Bayside Academy pitcher Josh Gunther were named their respective classification’s coach and pitcher of the year by the Alabama Sports Writers Association.

Gunther was also one of 13 local players named to all-state teams between four on the first team, five on the second team and four honorable mentions. Bayside Academy and Bayshore Christian led the way with three honorees each, both Fairhope and Spanish Fort had two selections and Baldwin County, Gulf Shores and Snook Christian each earned one all-state nod.

With Pruitt recognized as the Class 6A coach of the year, he joined Toro head softball coach Barclay Kercher in representing their school with the honor bestowed by the ASWA.

Spanish Fort (29-19) went to the state final series for the first time since 2014 but fell in two games to the Oxford Yellow Jackets who finished off an undefeated postseason. In five years at the helm, Pruitt’s teams have won three area titles and earned the Red Map trophy as state runner-up.

In his final high school season before joining the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Gunther was the ace of the Bayside Academy (25-11) pitching staff and helped the Admirals reach the state semifinals. According to unofficial stats from the Mobile Baseball Connection, Gunther finished with a 0.73 ERA and 97 strikeouts across 10 wins.

Gunther was also named the Baldwin County pitcher of the year by Mobile Baseball Connection as part of its Terrific Twelve. Hollon Brock and Brooks Brasfield from Fairhope, Trevor Murphy from Baldwin County, Pierce Dutton from Spanish Fort, Connor Gehr from Gulf Shores and Cole Dean from Bayshore Christian were other all-state representatives who also recently earned spots on the Terrific Twelve.

Below are the local all-state selections as chosen by the Alabama Sports Writers Association.

Class 7A

Second-team all-state
Hollon Brock, senior, C – Fairhope

Class 6A

Coach of the Year
JD Pruitt – Spanish Fort

First-team all-state

Second-team all-state
Newton Gardner, sophomore, DH – Spanish Fort

Honorable mention
Trevor Murphy, senior, UTIL – Baldwin County

Class 5A

First-team all-state
Connor Gehr, junior, IF – Gulf Shores

Class 4A

Pitcher of the year

First-team all-state
Josh Gunther, senior, P – Bayside Academy

Honorable mention
Jake DeValk, senior, DH – Bayside Academy

Class 2A

First-team all-state
Streed Crooms, senior, P – Bayshore Christian

Second-team all-state
Cole Dean, sophomore, IF – Bayshore Christian
Mikael Bryant, senior, UTIL – Bayshore Christian

AISA

Honorable mention
Philip Butts, senior, UTIL – Snook Christian