Ard, Opata Named To NCBWA Southeast All-Region Teams
DAHLONEGA – The No. 22 University of North Georgia (UNG) baseball team had two players named to the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Southeast All-Region Team per the association's announcement Friday.
Junior center fielder Andrews Opata was named to the NCBWA Southeast All-Region First Team while redshirt junior Phillip Ard earned a spot on the All-Region Second Team.
Opata earned the first All-Region acclaim of his career with Friday's announcement. The 2025 Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year and All-Conference First Team selection has been a bona fide star this season for the Nighthawks.
Opata finished the regular season ranked fifth nationally in runs and hits. He also ranked ninth in stolen bases with 40 swipes on the year, which is four shy of the UNG single season record.
His 60 RBIs ranked No. 35 among all hitters nationally.
A hitting machine with a regular-season batting average of .380, Opata led the team with 31 multi-hit games this year. He also had 14 multi-RBI games which ranked second on the team behind his fellow all-region selection.
Ard led the team and ranked third in the country with a staggering 91 RBIs this season, shattering the program single-season record of 78 set by Richie Daigle back in 2005.
The PBC All-Conference Second Team and All-Tournament Team selection also ranked fourth in the country with 22 home runs this season. In an elimination game against No. 26 Carson-Newman in the 2025 Southeast Regional on Friday, Ard belted a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning to tie the program record for most homers in a single season.
The slugging first baseman led the team with 20 multi-RBI games this season. His 1.72 RBIs per game average ranked second in the country entering postseason play.
After Opata and Ard saved UNG's season with a pair of eighth-inning, two-run homers each, the Nighthawks survived and advanced to play Saturday in the Southeast Regional. UNG will face second-seeded No. 14 Belmont Abbey in another elimination game at 4 p.m. Saturday.
A win against the Crusaders pushes the Nighthawks back into the winner's bracket where they will face elimination once again Saturday at 7 p.m. against third-seeded No. 12 Lenoir-Rhyne.
Latest Top Stories Feed
- No. 22 UNG's Historic Season Comes To Halt In 2025 NCAA Southeast RegionalBELMONT, N.C. – All good things must come to an end.
- Worley Named 2025 NCAA Division II Dave Williams Coach of the Year FinalistDAHLONEGA – No. 3 University of North Georgia (UNG) men's golf head coach Bryson Worley has been named a finalist for the 2025 NCAA Division II Dave Williams National Coach of the Year Award the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) announced Friday.
- Two Nighthawk Programs Honored With PBC Team Sportsmanship AwardsDAHLONEGA – Two University of North Georgia (UNG) spring athletic teams were given the Team Sportsmanship Award from the Peach Belt Conference the league office announced Friday.
- No. 11 North Georgia Claims Southeast Region Title, Punches Ticket To 2025 NCAA Softball ChampionshipFLORENCE, S.C. – The No. 11 University of North Georgia (UNG) softball team will return to the 2025 NCAA Softball Championship for the fourth time in the last five years after taking down No. 2 Francis Marion (FMU) in the final game of the 2025 NCAA Southeast Super Regional in Florence, S.C. on Friday.
- No. 22 UNG Survives Elimination With Eighth-Inning Rally Over No. 26 EaglesBELMONT, N.C. – The No. 22 University of North Georgia (UNG) baseball team pulled off an impressive rally to save its season and take down No. 26 Carson Newman (C-N) 4-2 in an elimination game in the 2025 NCAA Southeast Regional Friday in Belmont, N.C.
- No. 11 Nighthawks Come Up Clutch In 5-4 Extra-Inning Win At No. 2 Francis MarionFLORENCE, S.C. – The No. 11 University of North Georgia (UNG) softball team pulled out a thrilling 5-4 win over No. 2 Francis Marion (FMU) in extra innings to open the 2025 NCAA Southeast Super Regional in Florence, S.C. Thursday afternoon.