Strickland Earns GAC Player of the Week Honors
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Great American Conference announced its baseball weekly honors for week ten of the 2026 season on Monday, with East Central University's
Ryan Strickland earning Player of the Week recognition.
The honor marks the first of Strickland's career and the first Player of the Week selection for the Tigers since 2020.
Strickland played a pivotal role in ECU's undefeated 3-0 week against Southern Nazarene University, helping lift the Tigers to six consecutive wins and a 12-12 mark in GAC play. The strong stretch represents one of the program's most successful starts to conference action since 2016.
A redshirt senior from Midwest City, Oklahoma, Strickland powered the Tigers' offense throughout the series. He recorded six hits on the weekend, including three home runs, highlighted by a clutch grand slam in game three that secured the series sweep.
Strickland finished the week with 16 total bases, nine RBIs, six runs scored, and an impressive 1.000 slugging percentage.
ECU returns to action Tuesday, April 7, hosting Newman University in a nonconference matchup at 3 p.m. The contest serves as a makeup from the previously canceled series earlier this season.
