ODESSA, Texas (May 18, 2026) – Junior shortstop Gael Bernal and freshman outfielder Daylon Jefcoats of The University of Texas Permian Basin baseball team both earned a pair of Second-Team All-South Central Region awards from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association (NCBWA) and the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) for 2026.

Gael Bernal
Bernal was previously named First-Team All-Lone Star Conference after starting in all 50 games across three positions on the infield, including 33 games at shortstop. He it .402 with 48 runs, 72 hits, 10 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 45 RBI's, 98 total bases, 19 walks, 10 hit by pitches, a .476 on-base percentage and a .547 slugging percentage in 179 at-bats. He led the team in batting average, hits, RBI's, walks and on-base percentage. He was also second on the squad in at-bats and runs scored, and was tied for the team-lead with 10 hit by pitches and four sacrifice flies.

Bernal led the LSC in hits and also ranked fifth in batting average, 15th in at-bats, 19th in on-base percentage, tied for 20th in RBI's, tied for 21st in runs scored and tied for 29th in slugging percentage. He led UTPB with nine three-hit games and 23 total multi-hit games this season, and had 12 games with at least two runs scored and 10 games with at least two RBI's. He also had UTPB's longest hitting streak this season at 13 games (Feb. 27-Mar. 20), and reached base safely in each of the final 10 games of the season (Apr. 10-26).

Defensively, Bernal led the Falcons with 120 assists, was second with 187 chances, helped turn 17 doubles play, and posted a great .973 fielding percentage (5 errors) playing mostly on a tough dirt infield. Defensively, he was tied for seventh in the conference in assists, was 30th in total chances and tied for 31st in fielding percentage. His eight defensive assists at Texas A&M University-Kingsville (Feb. 16) tied for the third most in a single game in the LSC this season, while his other game with seven defensive assists vs. West Texas A&M (Feb. 28) tied for the seventh-most in the conference.

Daylon Jefcoats
Jefcoats was previously named the 2026 LSC Freshman of the Year and First-Team All-LSC, becoming the first LSC specialty award winner in program history. Jefcoats started in all but one game on the season, and started 36 games in right field. He hit .365 with 49 runs, 66 hits, 11 doubles, two triples, nine home runs, 32 RBI's, 108 total bases, 12 walks, five hit by pitches, 11 stolen bases, a .417 on-base percentage and a .597 slugging percentage in 181 at-bats.

Jefcoats led UTPB in at-bats, runs, home runs, total bases, stolen bases and slugging percentage. He was also tied for second on the team in hits. He tied for seventh in program history for home runs in a single season (9). His three-homer, eight-RBI game vs. St. Mary's University (Apr. 18) led the LSC in both categories and represents a new UTPB record for a single game. He led UTPB with three four-hit games this season, was third on the team with 18 multi-hit games, and had 13 games with a least two runs scored and seven games with at least two RBI's.