KANNAPOLIS — Infielder and designated hitter Tim Elko of the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers has become the first team member to earn a post season award since the league began handing them out.

Elko, who finished the 2023 season with 17 home runs in just 66 games played, has earned the distinction of Carolina League All-Star at the designated hitter position by Minor League Baseball (MiLB).

The voting was conducted among Carolina League managers and the awards were recently finalized by the commissioner’s office.   

After a college career that saw him win a College World Series and earn the title of captain of the Ole Miss baseball program, Elko joined the Cannon Ballers for the later portion of 2022, returning in 2023 with high expectations of being a cornerstone at the plate. The right-handed batter did just that, getting off to a fast start by earning the Carolina League Player of the Month award for April.

Playing in 66 of a possible 68 games in his tenure with Kannapolis, Elko led the team in nearly every offensive category. The former tenth-round selection in 2022 left the Carolina League on June 27, leading the entire league in hits (77), home runs (17) and runs batted in (57). Despite only playing in a Ballers uniform until late June, Elko led the Carolina League in home runs until the penultimate day of the Carolina League regular season. 

Elko was called up to High-A Winston-Salem on June 27, quickly moving to Double-A Birmingham on August 8.  

Fans can stay in the loop on with the Cannon Ballers on the team’s social media outlets, with live in-game updates being provided on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @kcannonballers. All Cannon Ballers home games are broadcast for free on Bally Live, with all home and select road games also having a free audio broadcast on kcballers.com and the MiLB First Pitch app.