AMARILLO, TX (May 18, 2026) – Minor League Baseball today announced that Amarillo Sod Poodles outfielder Gavin Conticello is the Texas League Player of the Week for the week of May 11-17. A recent power surge over the last road trip led to the outfielder earning the weekly honor, making it the third time this season a Sod Poodle has taken home a weekly award.
The Floridian found his groove over the last week on the road at Corpus Christi, batting .450 (9x20) while tallying five extra-base hits, five runs scored, six RBI and two walks while posting a 1.500 OPS over five games. His week was highlighted by a two-homer game on May 14 in which he went 3-for-4 at the dish and scored three times. It was his first multi-homer game as a Sod Poodle and only the second multi-homer game of his professional career, most recently doing so on April 13, 2024 as a member of the High-A Hillsboro Hops.
Drafted by the Diamondbacks out of high school in the 2021 MLB Draft, Conticello put together a multi-hit performance in three straight games from May 14-16 last week. He went deep in back-to-back games, and finished a triple shy of the cycle on May 15. The left-handed hitter primarily used the opposite field for the majority of his nine base hits last week and only struck out only once over 20 total plate appearances
The outfielder has heated up lately especially on the road over the last couple of weeks. Over his most recent 11 road games (since April 28), Conticello is batting .415 (17x41) with seven extra-base hits, 11 RBI, seven walks and a 1.232 OPS over 11 games.
Conticello is the third Sod Poodle to take home a weekly award in the Texas League this season, joining Manuel Pena who earned Texas League Player of the Week on April 20 and Josh Grosz who earned Texas League Pitcher of the Week on May 11.
Fans can tune in to Sod Poodles baseball all summer long for free on the Bally Sports Live app or at BallySports.com. Additionally, fans may purchase an MLB+ subscription, which includes access to MiLB games live and on demand. Watch now links can also be found HERE. For radio listeners, every Sod Poodles game in 2026 will be broadcast live on KIXZ 940 AM, the new Official Radio Home of the Amarillo Sod Poodles. Listen Live links are available on the Sod Poodles website HERE as well as on NewsTalk 940 AM’s website HERE.
The Soddies are back at HODGETOWN this week to take on the visiting Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Double-A, Kansas City Royals) for a homestand that features 25 Cent Hot Dog Night, Toy Story Night, and a Ryan Waldschmidt Bobblehead giveaway. Individual tickets are available for purchase online at sodpoodles.com or at the HODGETOWN box office.