TUCSON, Ariz. – The Louisville Slugger NCAA Division I All-American baseball teams and National Player of The Year were announced Wednesday by Collegiate Baseball newspaper, and four Southern Conference student-athletes were among those honored.
Mercer’s Kyle Lewis and Wofford’s Conor Clancey were named second-team All-Americans, while The Citadel’s James Reeves and VMI’s Matt Winn earned third-team honors.
Mercer’s Lewis, named the SoCon Player of the Year by the league’s coaches and media, ranks in the top 10 in the SoCon in several offensive categories, pacing the league in batting average (.373), slugging percentage (.691), total bases (150) and home runs (17). The sophomore from Snellville, Ga., is tied for second in the conference with 81 hits and is tied for fourth with 18 doubles.
His .428 on-base percentage is ninth in the league and his 56 RBIs tie for fifth. Lewis was the SoCon Player of the Week on March 23 and May 4 and the Player of the Month for March. So far this season, Lewis has posted 28 multiple-hit games, including a 5-for-5 showing against UNCG on April 26, and 15 multi-RBI contests.
Lewis helped the Bears to SoCon regular-season and tournament titles in their first season in the league. Mercer, making its third-ever NCAA appearance, will face Florida State on Friday in the Tallahassee Regional.
Wofford’s Clancey, a native of Scottsdale, Arizona, started 58 games at first base and led the team in home runs (10) and total bases (131) this season. He set a school single-season record with 27 doubles, which ranked first in the Southern Conference and third in the nation. He also led the SoCon in RBIs with 66, which ranked ninth in the nation. In addition, he was eighth in the conference in slugging percentage and sixth in total bases. His .326 batting average was fourth on the team, while his 72 hits were third. He was named All-Southern Conference first team and was a two-time SoCon Player of the Week this season.
Clancey is just the second Wofford player to be honored as a Louisville Slugger All-American, joining Brandon Waring (first team) in 2007.
This season, Wofford set a school record for wins with 39. The Terriers reached the Southern Conference semifinals for the second straight season and posted back-to-back winning records for the first time since 1990 and 1991. The team also posted the first winning record in Southern Conference play since joining the league.
The Citadel’s Reeves, a left-handed walk-on, held an ERA of 3.69 over his 15 starts and posted a record of 8-4 this year. He struck out 115 batters over his 95 innings on the mound, walking just 28 batters.
Reeves was named the SoCon Pitcher of the Year for the 2015 season and was named the Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week on April 6 after no-hitting league-leading Mercer on April 2, striking out 14. Reeves was also a two-time SoCon Pitcher of the Week this season.
VMI’s Winn becomes the first upperclass Keydet player in program history to make one of the All-American teams outright, after outfielder Rob Dickinson earned honorable mention All-American honors in 2013.
Winn finished his career with a .304 season that saw him hit 14 home runs, tied for the third-most in a single season ever at VMI. He ranked in the top 20 in Division I in caught-stealing percentage for the majority of the year, as well.
Winn is also still alive in the balloting for this year's Johnny Bench Award, the honor given to the top catcher in Division I. It is the second time in his career he has made the semifinal round of voting.