ROCK HILL, SC- Three Winthrop baseball players received additional postseason honors, with senior left fielder Jacob Dempsey being named All-America by Baseball America and joining junior second baseman Chris Carrara and freshman starting pitcher Alex Wilson on the American Baseball Coaches Association’s All-Atlantic Region Team.
Dempsey, who was named Second-Team All-America by Baseball America, and Wilson were previously named 2006 Louisville Slugger NCAA Division I All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball, representing Winthrop on the third team along with junior starting pitcher Heath Rollins.
Dempsey was named First-Team All-Atlantic Region by the Coaches Association along with Carrara, who picks up his first regional honor, while Wilson represents the Eagles on the Second-Team. All three were named to the Big South Conference’s First-Team at their respective positions. Carrara was also named to the NCAA All-Regional team in Chapel Hill earlier this month.
A senior from Chesapeake, VA, Dempsey finished the season batting a team-leading .403 (100-248) with 17 home runs and a single-season record 78 RBI. With a single-season tying 28 doubles, he finished with 78 doubles atop the career list, while his 100 hits matched Dominic Pattie’s (UNC Greensboro, 1997) Big South conference single-season record. Dempsey was one of four Winthrop players taken in Major League Baseball’s First-Year player draft (21st round, 637 overall), signing earlier in the month with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Carrara, a junior from Charlotte, NC, started every game for Winthrop at second base. Turning in his best season in his career thus far, Carrara’s .364 (98-269) average was third best on the team. He hit 13 doubles, five triples and seven home runs –all personal bests and drove in 34 RBI to go along with a team-high 73 runs scored. With a team-leading 33 stolen bases, he moved up to third place on the all-time list with 74.
Named Freshman Pitcher of the Year by Collegiate Baseball and Big South Freshman of the Year, Wilson finished the season with a 13-3 record and a 3.78 ERA. In a single-season record 19 starts, the freshman from Hurricane, WV, struck out 143 batters in 138.0 innings, while holding opponents to a .247 (127-515) average. He recorded notable wins over Miami, Alabama, Clemson and Wake Forest, among others.
Baseball America 2006 College All-American Team
FIRST TEAM
C Matt Wieters, So., Georgia Tech
1B Mark Hamilton, Jr., Tulane
2B Jim Negrych, Jr., Pittsburgh
3B Pedro Alvarez, Fr., Vanderbilt
SS Brian Friday, So., Rice
OF Kellen Kulbacki, So., James Madison
OF Cole Gillespie, Jr., Oregon State
OF Tyler Colvin, Jr., Clemson
DH Ryan Strieby, Jr., Kentucky
UT Brad Lincoln, Jr., Houston
SP Andrew Miller, Jr., North Carolina (College Player of the Year)
SP Tim Lincecum, Jr., Washington
SP Eddie Degerman, Sr., Rice
SP Wes Roemer, So., Cal State Fullerton
RP Cole St. Clair, So., Rice
SECOND TEAM
C Kody Valverde, Sr., Alabama
1B Craig Cooper, Jr., Notre Dame
2B Justin Turner, Sr., Cal State Fullerton
SS Emmanuel Burris, Jr., Kent State
3B Evan Longoria, Jr., Long Beach State
OF Jacob Dempsey, Sr., Winthrop
OF Jon Jay, Jr., Miami
OF Drew Stubbs, Jr., Texas
DH Josh Horton, So., North Carolina
UT Sean Doolittle, So., Virginia
SP Jake Arrieta, So., Texas Christian
SP Jonah Nickerson, Jr., Oregon State
SP Nick Schmidt, So., Arkansas
SP Steven Wright, Jr., Hawaii
RP Dan Czyz, Sr., Kansas
UT Sean Doolittle, So., Virginia
THIRD TEAM
C Jordan Newton, Jr., Western Kentucky
1B Andy D'Alessio, Jr., Clemson
2B Damon Sublett, So., Wichita State
SS Zack Cozart, So., Mississippi
3B Josh Rodriguez, Jr., Rice
OF Corey Brown, So., Oklahoma State
OF John Raynor, Jr., UNC Wilmington
OF Joey Side, Jr., Georgia
OF Chad Huffman, Jr., Texas Christian
UT Mike Felix, Jr., Troy
SP Lauren Gagnier, Jr., Cal State Fullerton
SP Danny Ray Herrera, Jr., New Mexico
SP Wade Leblanc, Jr., Alabama
SP P.J. Walters, Jr., South Alabama
SP Josh Fields, So., Georgia
UT Mike Felix, Jr., Troy
2006 ABCA Atlantic Region Team
FIRST TEAM
C Matt Wieters, So., Georgia Tech
1B Andy D’Alessio, Jr., Clemson
2B Chris Carrara, Jr., Winthrop
SS Josh Horton, So., North Carolina
3B Matt Antonelli, Jr., Wake Forest
OF Jacob Dempsey, Sr., Winthrop
OF Mark Shorey, Sr., High Point
OF Tyler Colvin, Jr., Clemson
UT Robert Rodebaugh, Jr., Elon
SP Sean Doolittle, So., Virginia
SP Andrew Miller, Jr., North Carolina
SP Josh Cribb, Sr., Clemson
RP Andrew Urena, Sr., Mercer
SECOND TEAM
C Eddy Rodriquez, Jr., Miami
1B Mike Priest, Sr., Campbell
2B Ramon Corona, So., N.C. State
SS A.J. Daviduk, Sr., Furman
3B Wes Hodges, Jr., Georgia Tech
OF Shane Robinson, Jr., Florida State
OF Danny Payne, So., Georgia Tech
OF Steven Strausbaugh, So., Western Carolina
UT Jon Still, Jr., N.C. State
SP Matt Dobbins, So., Jacksonville
SP Alex Wilson, Fr., Winthrop
SP Nick Chigges, Jr., College of Charleston
SP Ben Hunter, So., Wake Forest
