ODESSA, Texas (May 6, 2026) – Outfielder Daylon Jefcoats of The University of Texas Permian Basin baseball team was named the 2026 Lone Star Conference Freshman of the Year. In addition, junior shortstop Gael Bernal joined Jefcoats as a First-Team All-LSC selection while junior third baseman Carlos Chavez was named to the second-team.

It was a program record for players to earn First-Team All-LSC in one season. In addition, Jefcoats was the first LSC specialty award winner in program history.

Daylon Jefcoats – Fr., OF – Freshman of the Year, First-Team All-LSC
Jefcoats was one of four Falcons to play in all 50 games this season and started in all but one game (36 starts in right field, 10 starts in left field, 2 starts at designated hitter, 1 start at first base). 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. He 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. In addition, Jefcoats is 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. Jefcoats 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.

Jefcoats recorded UTPB's first hit of the season with a one-out triple to right field in the bottom of the second inning vs. No. 12 Angelo State University, and finished 2-for-3 with a home run and a triple in his collegiate debut. Jefcoats then delivered a two-run single to center field with two outs in the fifth inning as UTPB earned its first win of the 2026 season with a 2-0 shutout victory over the Rams, giving him a game-winning hit to wrap up opening weekend to go along with the home run during his debut. Then in the next series at Texas A&M International University, Jefcoats smashed a pair of two-out home runs in the fifth inning (two-run home run) and the seventh inning (solo home run), giving him three home runs in the first six games of the season. In game one vs. West Texas A&M University, Jefcoats was 4-for-6 with four RBI-singles. He hit .563 (9-16) with six runs scored and three doubles in the series at Eastern New Mexico University, batting 3-for-5 in two of those games. Jefcoats was 3-for-4 with four runs scored, two stolen bases and a walk in the series opener vs. Cameron University, and scored eight runs in the first three games vs. the Aggies. Jefcoats led off the bottom of the seventh inning with a hit by pitch and scored the winning run in UTPB's walk-off win in game one vs. Sul Ross State University. He would go on to hit .571 (8-14) against the Lobos and led the team in hits, runs (8), steals (5), on-base percentage (.667) and slugging percentage (.857) for the series while also hitting his team-leading sixth home run of the season.

In game two of UTPB's final home series against No. 17 St. Mary's, Jefcoats hit a two-run home run in each of the first two innings and wrapped up the scoring with a grand slam in the sixth inning to finish the game with three home runs and eight RBI's. Both Jefcoats' home run and RBI totals were a new UTPB record for a single game. Then in the final series of the season at Lubbock Christian University, Jefcoats delivered the biggest hit of the game with a two-run double down the left field line to put the Falcons in front 7-6 in the fifth inning. Jefcoats would go on to start the final game of his freshman season 4-for-4 and finished the contest 4-for-6. Jefcoats hit .444 (8-for-18) with three runs, three RBI's and two doubles in the series against the Chaparrals.

Gael Bernal – Jr., SS – First-Team All-LSC
Bernal was named to the 2026 LSC Preseason Players to Watch list for position players, and proceeded to start in all 50 games across three positions on the infield. He started 33 games at shortstop, 12 at second base and five at third base. He also hit leadoff in a team-high 18 games this season. He hit .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 was one of two Falcons to start in all 50 games this season and 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 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, he 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. In addition, 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.

Bernal's was named UTPB's Edgardo Madrid & Associates Men's Student-Athlete of the Month for March. He played in all 17 games, reached base more than half the time (.571 on-base percentage), and nearly hit .500 (.492) throughout the course of the month. His numbers that month also included 15 runs, 29 hits, two doubles, one triple, 16 RBI's, seven walks and four hit by pitches across 59 at-bats. He had nearly as many runs (15) and RBI's (16) as games played (17), and averaged 1.7 hits per game. Almost as impressively, Bernal committed just one error in 47 chances (.979 fielding percentage) while playing at three different positions on the infield. Bernal hit .556 (10-18) and led the team in both hits (10) and RBI's (7) in the series at Eastern New Mexico. He then hit .688 (11-16), led the team in hits (11) and hit by pitches (3) while posting a .737 on-base percentage and a .813 slugging percentage in the home series vs. Cameron. Lastly during the month of March, Bernal hit .556 (5-for-9) in the series at No. 18 The University of Texas at Tyler.

Bernal started off the final month of the season with a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh inning in game one vs. Sul Ross. He then hit .467 (7-for-15), led the team with eight runs scored, had both a double and a home run, and also had a .556 on-base percentage and a .733 slugging percentage in the series at Oklahoma Christian University. In UTPB's final home series against No. 17 St. Mary's, he hit .500 (7-14), led the team with six runs scored and four walks; added five RBI's, a double and a home run; and also had a .600 on-base percentage and a .786 slugging percentage. In the final series of the season, Bernal drew a hit by pitch to get on base and scored the winning run in the seventh inning in UTPB's last win of the season at Lubbock Christian.

Carlos Chavez – Jr., 3B – Second-Team All-LSC
Chavez was one of two Falcons to start in all 50 games this season. He started 34 games at third base, 13 at catcher and three at first base. He hit .373 with 44 runs, 66 hits, 20 doubles, four home runs, 35 RBI's, 98 total bases, 17 walks, four hit by pitches, a .433 on-base percentage and a .554 slugging percentage in 177 at-bats. He led UTPB in doubles and was also second on the team in batting average and slugging percentage. Chavez led UTPB with 13 multi-RBI games this season, was second on the team with 22 multi-hit games, and had 11 games with a least two runs scored. He also had UTPB's longest on-base streak this season at 19 games (Feb. 13-Mar. 14). Chavez was top-three on the Falcons in defensive chances (179), putouts (114; ranked 2nd) and assists (52), and posted a .927 fielding percentage. He helped turn three double plays in one game vs. St. Mary's (Apr. 17).

Chavez recorded two hits in each of the first three games of the season, hitting .500 (6-12) against No. 12 Angelo State to open the season. He then hit .400 (6-15) with five RBI's against Texas A&M-Kingsville and led UTPB in hits for the second time in its first three series of the season. During the first two games against Cameron, Chavez was a combined 6-for-7 on the day with five runs scored, three RBI's, two walks, a home run and a double. He hit a combined .533 (8-15) against the Aggies and added seven runs, six RBI's, a .632 on-base percentage and a .800 slugging percentage for the series. Chavez later hit .583 (7-12) with six runs scored and a .643 on base-percentage in UTPB's series sweep vs. Sul Ross, and went 3-for-3 with three runs scored in the final game. Lastly, Chavez hit .545 (6-for-11) with four runs scored, four walks, two doubles and a home run while also adding a .667 on-base percentage and a 1.000 slugging percentage in the final series of the season at Lubbock Christian.