2017 CAA Baseball Final Report

6/29/2017 2:51:45 PM

Rob Washburn

2017 CAA BASEBALL FINAL REPORT (PDF format)

14 CAA Players Selected In MLB Draft: There were 14 CAA players selected in the 2017 Major League Baseball draft, including a pair in the first five rounds. William & Mary pitcher Nick Raquet was chosen in the third round (#103 overall) by the Washington Nationals and Tribe infielder Cullen Large was taken in the fifth round (#159 overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays. Other CAA selections were: CofC pitcher Bailey Ober (12th rd./Minnesota), UNCW pitcher Josh Roberson (12th rd./Miami), Elon pitcher Jordan Barrett (18th rd./Toronto), UNCW catcher Nick Feight (19th rd./San Diego), Delaware pitcher Ron Marinaccio (19th rd./N.Y. Yankees), UNCW outfielder Casey Golden (20th rd./Colorado), UNCW infielder Brian Mims (22nd rd./Philadelphia), JMU infielder Kyle McPherson (26th rd./San Francisco), JMU pitcher Brandon Withers (31st rd./Oakland), UNCW outfielder Robbie Thorburn (31st rd./Baltimore), W&M pitcher Nick Brown (32nd rd./Minnesota) and UNCW infielder Terence Connelly (40th rd./Arizona).

UNCW’s Golden Earns All-America Honors: UNCW senior outfielder Casey Golden received second-team All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball. Golden batted .310 with a CAA-best 21 home runs and ranked second in the league with 55 runs scored. He finished his career tied for first on UNCW’s all-time home run list with 40.

Elon’s Brnovich Headlines Five Freshman All-Americans: Elon pitcher Kyle Brnovich was chosen as a Freshman All-American by the NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball. The Phoenix right-hander went 6-5 with a 3.10 ERA this season and set an Elon freshman record with 103 strikeouts. Also honored as Freshman All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball were Northeastern second baseman Scott Holzwasser, James Madison pitcher Kevin Kelly, William & Mary outfielder Brandon Raquet and James Madison infielder Fox Semones.

Towson Selects Tyner As New Head Coach: Towson has chosen Matt Tyner as its new head baseball coach. Tyner spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Richmond and was previously a head coach at Bellarmine for two years. After a highly successful playing career at Miami, he was a 9th-round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles and spent three years in their system before injuries ended his career. Tyner takes over for Mike Gottlieb, who won 733 games and guided the Tigers to three NCAA appearances during his 30 years as head coach.

11 CAA Players Receive All-Region Status: Eleven CAA players were honored on the ABCA/Rawlings All-Region teams. Selected to the East Region first team were UNCW catcher Ryan Jeffers, Delaware first baseman Nick Patten, UNCW outfielder Casey Golden, UNCW designated hitter Nick Feight and UNCW pitcher Alex Royalty. Making the East Region second team were W&M second baseman Cullen Large, Delaware outfielder Jordan Glover, JMU outfielder Adam Sisk, Delaware designated hitter Doug Trimble and Delaware pitcher Ron Marinaccio. College of Charleston outfielder Logan McRae was named to the Atlantic Region second team.

Delaware Drops Close Games In NCAA Regionals: Delaware lost a pair of close games in the Lubbock Regional of the NCAA Baseball Championship. The Blue Hens were beaten by host Texas Tech, 5-2, in their opening contest before being eliminated after a 6-5 setback in 12 innings to Arizona. Against TTU, UD was within 3-2 after an RBI single by Nick Patten in the sixth but surrendered a two-run homer in the eighth. The Hens trailed Arizona 5-1 before getting a two-run single from Jeremy Ake in the eighth and a two-run single by Jordan Glover in the ninth to force extra innings. It was Delaware’s first appearance in the NCAA Regionals since 2001.

Delaware Captures First CAA Baseball Title: Fourth-seeded Delaware exploded for nine runs in the first inning and went on to a 10-3 victory over #2 UNCW to claim the 2017 CAA Baseball Championship at Brooks Field in Wilmington, N.C.. The Blue Hens rolled through the tournament with a perfect 4-0 record and outscored their opponents 38-14. Nick Patten was 2-for-3 with two RBI’s and Doug Trimble went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a run driven in against the Seahawks. UD got a sensational pitching performance from reliever Kyle Hinton, who allowed only one run over the final seven innings. After giving up a home run to the first batter he faced, Hinton retired 15 consecutive Seahawks. It was the first CAA title for Delaware, which had made three previous trips to the finals and had twice fallen to UNCW.

Blue Hens’ Ake Tops CAA All-Tournament Team: Delaware senior shortstop Jeremy Ake was chosen as the Most Outstanding Player of the CAA Baseball Championship after batting .429 with five runs scored and five RBI’s over four games. He was joined on the All-Tournament team by Blue Hens’ teammates Jordan Glover, Kyle Hinton, Ron Marinaccio, Brian Mayer and Nick Patten. Making the squad from UNCW were Logan Beehler, Casey Golden, Ryan Jeffers and Alex Royalty. College of Charleston’s Carter Love and Logan McRae rounded out the team.

UNCW’s Golden, Royalty Headline All-CAA Team: UNCW senior outfielder Casey Golden was chosen as the CAA Player of the Year, while Seahawks’ teammate Alex Royalty was voted as the CAA Pitcher of the Year by the league’s head coaches. Golden batted .310 with a league-best 21 homers, 55 runs scored and 42 RBI’s, while Royalty went 9-2 with a 3.20 ERA and struck out 106 batters over 98.1 innings. Rookie of the Year accolades went to Elon pitcher Kyle Brnovich (6-5, 3.10 ERA, 103 K’s), while Northeastern shortstop Max Burt was named CAA Defensive Player of the Year. Northeastern’s Mike Glavine was honored as Coach of the Year after guiding the Huskies to their first CAA regular-season title. A complete listing of the all-conference teams is included on Page 2 of this release.

National Honors Roll In: Seven CAA players were recognized as National Players of the Week from Collegiate Baseball this season. Receiving the award were Elon pitcher Robbie Welhaf (Feb. 20), JMU first baseman Brett Johnson (Feb. 27), JMU pitcher Colton Harlow (March 13), Delaware pitcher Brandon Walter (March 20), Elon outfielder Kyle Jackson (April 3), Elon pitcher Kyle Brnovich (April 10) and College of Charleston pitcher Bailey Ober (May 15).