OMAHA, Neb. – Former Mercer University outfielder Kyle Lewis continued his impressive haul of national awards on Saturday afternoon, as the American Baseball Coaches Association announced him the ABCA/Rawlings Gold Bat Award winner.
The honor recognizes Lewis as the association’s national player of the year. It’s the second national player of the year award he’s earned following a stellar junior campaign for the Bears. He was named Baseball America’s Collegiate Player of the Year on June 7.
Lewis – the No. 11 overall pick by the Seattle Mariners in 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft on June 9 – was additionally named a first-team All-American by the ABCA/Rawlings, marking his fourth All-America nod of the season. He’s been named to other All-America teams by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
The Snellville, Ga., native established himself as one of college baseball’s premier position players this spring, leading the nation’s second-best power-hitting team with 20 home runs and 72 RBIs, which ranked sixth and fifth nationally.
He ranked fourth nationally with a program-record 66 walks while ranking top-15 nationally in batting average (.395) and top-five nationally in on-base percentage (.535) and runs (70). He compiled a 48-game on-base streak and 27 multi-hit performances this season, as well.
He also helped the Bears to a 38-23 record – Mercer’s seventh straight season with 35 wins or more – and a second straight SoCon regular season championship.
Lewis was recognized with numerous other accolades this spring, including being named the Southern Conference Player of the Year for a second straight season and being recognized as a semifinalist for the NCBWA’s Dick Howser Trophy.
Lewis is the only player from the state of Georgia and one of two SoCon players named to the ABCA/Rawlings All-America First Team, joining ETSU’s Trey York.
First recognized in 1949, the ABCA/Rawlings All-Americans are selected by the ABCA All-America committee, which is chaired by Dean Ehehalt of Monmouth University. The committee also includes head coaches Mike Stone (Massachusetts), Brian O'Connor (Virginia), Tim Corbin (Vanderbilt), Steve Jaksa (Central Michigan), Dan Heefner (Dallas Baptist), Tommy Raffo (Arkansas State) and George Horton (Oregon).
ETSU’s York named first-team All-American by ABCA
OMAHA, Neb. – ETSU’s Trey York picked up his second All-American honor of the season, as the Buccaneer second baseman was tabbed a first-team ABCA/Rawlings All-American, which was announced by the committee on Saturday.
The first team was made up of 19 players, with eight of them being selected in either the first or second rounds of the 2016 MLB First-Year Player Draft.
York was named a first-team Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger All-American earlier this month and was drafted in the ninth round by the Milwaukee Brewers on June 10. Earlier this week, the Knoxville, Tenn., native earned first-team ABCA/Rawlings All-Region honors and he was also selected first-team All-Southern Conference in May.
This season, York hit .348 (81-for-233) with 23 doubles, one triple, 15 homers, 60 runs scored and 62 RBIs, while starting all 57 games for the Bucs. York also stole 17 bases and led the team with a .431 on-base percentage. The Buccaneer senior infielder led ETSU with 18 multi-RBI games, which included a career-high seven-RBI performance in a win at Eastern Kentucky in April. York also reached base safely in 23 straight games and posted a 10-game hit streak from April 26 through May 13.
Samford's Quinn named second-team All-American by ABCA
OMAHA, Neb. – Samford baseball player Heath Quinn earned his fifth postseason All-America honor Monday as the Bulldogs' junior right fielder was named to the second team by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), it was announced by the organization.
Quinn, one of the most decorated players in Samford history, has also received All-America honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's (NCBWA), Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and D1Baseball.com this season. He was also named a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, which is given annually to the best amateur player in the nation.
Recently, Quinn capped off his junior campaign by being selected by the San Francisco Giants with the 18th pick in the third round (95th overall) of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
With the honor, Quinn became the second-highest draft pick in Samford's 112-year history. In 2013, former Bulldog great Philip Ervin was selected 27th overall in the first round by the Cincinnati Reds
Samford, the winningest Division I program in the state of Alabama since 2011, has now had 19 players taken in the MLB Draft over the last six years. Prior to this season, four Bulldogs were drafted in 2011, seven Samford players were taken in 2012, a pair was drafted in 2013 and two were taken in 2014.
Quinn, who garnered first-team All-Southern Conference honors this year, finished 2016 with a .343 batting average, 21 home runs and a school-record 77 RBIs. He was also a member of the All-SoCon Tournament Team.
In his three-year career at Samford, Quinn compiled 44 home runs, 48 doubles, 168 runs, 181 RBIs and a stellar .334 batting average.
UNCG’s Spitznagel earns third-team All-America honors from ABCA
OMAHA, Neb. – UNCG’s Ben Spitznagel has earned American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings third-team All-American honors for his performance during the 2016 season. The teams were announced following the All-American Committee meeting in Omaha, Neb.
Spitznagel, a junior second baseman from Cincinnati, Ohio, hit for a .389 average with 15 doubles, two triples and a home run, drove in 23 runs and scored 61 runs during the season. The left-handed hitter finished second on the team with 21 stolen bases. Spitznagel is playing his summer ball with the Hamilton Joes of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League. With the Joes, Spitznagel has continued hitting well, having earned a .480 average with two doubles and two triples, scored 19 runs scored and five stolen bases through 12 games.
Joining Spitznagel on the All-American squads were three other Southern Conference players, including the player of the year, Kyle Lewis of Mercer. Trey York of ETSU earned first-team All-American honors at second base, with Hunter Quinn rounding out the SoCon representatives, earning second-team All-American honors as an outfielder.
Spitznagel is the third Spartan to earn All-American honors this season, joining Cesar Trejo and Andrew Moritz, who recently earned Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-American honors. Spitznagel is the 16th Spartan in school history to receive All-American honors.