ROCK HILL, SC– Winthrop’s freshman hurler Alex Wilson was named national Freshman Pitcher of the Year by Collegiate Baseball, heading up the Louisville Slugger’s Freshman All-American Baseball Team, as announced earlier today by the newspaper.
Wilson leads a starting rotation that features 17 starters and six relief pitchers as All-America selections. Of the 62 position players, Vanderbilt’s third baseman Pedro Alvarez was named freshman Player of the Year.
"This is certainly a great honor for Alex,” Eagles head coach Joe Hudak said. “And one that is well deserved. We knew that Alex would be a very good pitcher for us, but I don't think anyone could have envisioned the year that he had as a freshman. One of the great things about Alex is that he knows he can still get better, and he will work very hard to do so."
The Big South conference’s freshman of the year, Wilson turned in a stellar rookie season, rolling to a 13-3 record with a 3.78 ERA in a single-season record 19 starts. He struck out 143 batters in 138.0 innings, while holding opponents to a .247 batting average.
“It is a great honor,” Wilson said. “I never expected anything like that. It’s just one of those things where if it comes along, I’ll take it.”
The three-time Big South pitcher of the week recorded wins over college baseball powers Clemson and Wake Forest, as well as Miami and Alabama in his first two collegiate starts. As Winthrop made its television debut on ESPNU on May 13 at The Winthrop Ballpark, the rookie from Hurricane, WV, struck out a career high 16 batters in the Eagles’ 3-1 win over Big South foe High Point.
"While this is a tremendous individual honor for Alex, he will be the first to tell you that it is one he shares with his teammates,” Hudak said. “Without the help and support of teammates, none of our players, including Alex, would be in a position to receive individual honors."
Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American Team
Starting Pitchers:
RHP Alex Wilson –Collegiate Baseball’s National Freshman Pitcher of the Year
LHP Christian Friedrich, Eastern Kentucky
RHP Aaron Shafer, Wichita State
RHP Cody Satterwhite, Mississippi
LHP Matt Wickswat, Santa Clara
LHP Nathan Moreau, Georgia
RHP Dan Hudson, Old Dominion
RHP Erich Lehmann, Stephen F. Austin
LHP Brian Matusz, San Diego
RHP Ethan Hollingsworth, Western Michigan
RHP Miles Morgan, Texas Tech
RHP Scott Gorgen, U.C. Irvine
RHP Steven Hensley, Elon
RHP Jordan Muir, Brigham Young
RHP Steven Blevins, Cincinnati
LHP Travis Smink, VMI
RHP Matt Lea, Mississippi State
Relief Pitcher:
Kyle Weiland, Notre Dame
Ben Hunter, Pepperdine
Matt Daly, Hawaii
Austin Wood, Texas
J.D. Melton, Wofford
Luke Greinke, Auburn
Catchers:
Billy Aguiar, High Point
Preston Paramore, Arizona State
Ryan Babineau, UCLA
Tim Federowicz, North Carolina
First Baseman:
Allan Dykstra, Wake Forest
James Ewing, Arkansas
Jared Bolden, Virginia Commonwealth
Justin Smoak, South Carolina
Michael Ewing, Southern Mississippi
Calvin Anderson, Southern
Ryan Flaherty, Vanderbilt
Second baseman:
Erik Wetzel, Fresno State
Jemile Weeks, Miami (FL)
Bradly Suttle, Texas
Bert Smith, Jacksonville State
Scottt Elmendorf, Southern Illinois
Short stops:
Beamer Weems, Baylor
Brandon Douglas, Northern Iowa
Brian Dozier, Southern Mississippi
Danny Espinosa, Long Beach State
Tony Delmonico, Tennessee
Michael Marseco, Samford
Addison Maruszak, South Florida
Gordon Beckham, Georgia
Ben Soignier, Louisiana-Monroe
Shon Landry, McNeese State
Buster Posey, Florida State
Third baseman:
Pedro Alvarez, Vanderbilt -National Freshman Player of the Year
Kevin McAvoy, Maine
Derek Wiley, Belmont
Aaron Bray, Charlotte
Conor Gillaspie, Wichita State
Chase d’Arnaud, Pepperdine
Cameron Brown, Richmond
Outfielders:
Warren McFadden, Tulane
Jericho Jones, Louisiana Tech
Roger Kieschnick, Texas Tech
Aaron Luna, Rice
Andrew Crisp, South Carolina
Jordan Danks, Texas
Kyle Russell, Texas
Matt Miller, Georgia Southern
Jose Ortiz-Rivera, Bethune-Cookman
Josh Harrison, Cincinnati
Luke Adkins, Southern Mississippi
Mark Goforth, Birmingham-Southern
Matt Long, Santa Clara
Michael Rockett, Texas-San Antonio
Designated Hitters:
Mike Bianucci, Auburn
David Doss, South Alabama
Josh Workman, Wichita State
Mike Tamsin, Northeastern
Rick Niederhaus, Monmouth
Ryan Wiegand, Gonzaga
Utility Players:
Jared Prince, Washington State
Alex Buchholz, Delaware
Ike Davis, Arizona State
Ryan Gilboy, Austin Peay State
J.B. Shuck, Ohio State
Jordy Mercer, Oklahoma State
Josh Romanski, San Diego
Luis Flores, Houston
