2018 CAA Baseball Final Report
Rob Washburn
2018 FINAL CAA BASEBALL REPORT (PDF format)
DIAMOND NOTES:
CAA HAS 18 PLAYERS SELECTED IN MLB DRAFT: The CAA had 18 players from eight different teams selected in the 2018 Major League Baseball Draft, including seven in the first 10 rounds. UNCW catcher Ryan Jeffers was taken in the 2nd round (#59 overall) by the Minnesota Twins, becoming the highest CAA draft pick since 2008. Towson infielder Richie Palacios (#103 overall) went in the 3rd round to the Cleveland Indians and Hofstra pitcher John Rooney (#104) was chosen next by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Palacios was the highest draft pick in Tigers’ history. Other CAA draft picks were UNCW’s Austin Warren (6th round/Los Angeles Angels), Alex Royalty (8th round/Cleveland Indians), Clark Cota (10th round/Oakland Athletics, Austin Easter (31st round/Toronto Blue Jays) and Mason Berne (33rd round/Atlanta Braves); Elon’s Ryan Conroy (8th round/Baltimore Orioles) and Ryne Ogren (12th round/Seattle Mariners); Northeastern’s Charlie McConnell (13th round/Seattle Mariners) and Max Burt (28th round/New York Yankees); Delaware’s Kyle Hinton (16th round/Kansas City Royals) and Nick Patten (28th round/Pittsburgh Pirates); Charleston’s Evan Sisk (16th round/St. Louis Cardinals) and Luke Morgan (20th round/Colorado Rockies); James Madison’s Colton Harlow (30th round/Colorado Rockies) and Hofstra’s Teddy Cillis (33rd round/Kansas City Royals).
UNCW, NORTHEASTERN EARN NCAA BERTHS: For the sixth time in the past decade, multiple CAA teams received bids to the NCAA Baseball Championship. Conference champion UNCW was joined by regular-season champ Northeastern in the field of 64. The Seahawks, who made their ninth NCAA appearance, defeated Ohio State and host East Carolina to reach the Greenville Regional final before falling to South Carolina. UNCW has now won at least one game in each NCAA appearance and has reached the regional final with two victories six times. Northeastern earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time, but made its first appearance as a CAA member and first overall since 2003. The Huskies were beaten by Auburn and host NC State at the Raleigh Regional. UNCW’s Ryan Jeffers, Mason Berne and Kep Brown were chosen to the Greenville All-Regional team, while Northeastern’s Charlie McConnell made the Raleigh All-Regional team.
FOUR PLAYERS RECEIVE ALL-AMERICA HONORS: Four CAA baseball players received All-America accolades from a variety of outlets. Hofstra pitcher John Rooney was recognized by the ABCA/Rawlings (1st team), D1 Baseball (2nd team), Baseball America (2nd team), Perfect Game (2nd team), Collegiate Baseball (3rd team) and the NCBAW (3rd team). Rooney was 8-2 with a 1.23 ERA and struck out 108 batters in 95 innings. Elon pitcher Kyle Brnovich was honored by Perfect Game (1st team), the ABCA (2nd team), NCBWA (2nd team), D1 Baseball (2nd team) and Baseball America (2nd team). Brnovich was 8-2 with a 1.71 ERA and struck out 147 batters in 105 innings. Northeastern pitcher Sean Mellen, who went 10-3 with a 2.28 ERA, was chosen to the Collegiate Baseball second team.UNCW closer Clark Cota made the NCBWA third team after going 4-0 with a CAA-best 13 saves and a 2.04 ERA.
UNCW’S JEFFERS NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN: UNCW catcher Ryan Jeffers was selected to the Academic All-America third team, becoming the sixth Seahawk in school history to receive the award. Jeffers, who batted .315 with 22 doubles and 16 homers, compiled a 3.64 GPA while majoring in physics.
DELAWARE’S SULLIVAN EARNS FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA: Delaware pitcher Billy Sullivan IV received freshman All-America accolades from Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game. Sullivan IV posted a 7-3 record with a 2.97 ERA and set a Blue Hens’ freshman record with 95 strikeouts.
GLAVINE, SCALF NAMED REGIONAL COACHES OF THE YEAR: Northeastern’s Mike Glavine was named the ABCA Northeast Region Coach of the Year and UNCW’s Mark Scalf was honored as the ABCA East Region Coach of the Year. Glavine guided the Huskies to a program-record 36 wins, their second straight CAA regular-season title and their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003. He was also selected as CAA, ECAC and New England Coach of the Year. Scalf received his fifth regional coaching award after leading the Seahawks to 39 wins, their fifth CAA championship and ninth NCAA Tournament appearance.
11 CAA PLAYERS ON ALL-REGION TEAMS: Eleven CAA players were honored on ABCA/Rawlings All-Region teams. The East Region first team included UNCW’s Ryan Jeffers and Mason Berne, Hofstra’s John Rooney and Delaware’s Kyle Baker. Making the second team were Towson’s Richie Palacios, Hofstra’s Vito Friscia and UNCW’s Clark Cota. Selected to the Northeast Region first team was Northeastern’s Sean Mellen, while the Huskies’ Jake Farrell and Charlie McConnell were on the second team. Elon’s Kyle Brnovich was honored on the Atlantic Region first team.
UNCW CAPTURES CAA TITLE: Freshman Greg Jones went 3-for-5 with a homer and three RBI’s to lead #4 UNCW over #1 Northeastern, 7-4, in the title game of the CAA Baseball Championship. David Sheaffer and Cole Weiss each drove in two, with Weiss’ two-run single in the sixth giving the Seahawks a 5-3 advantage. Closer Clark Cota (4-0) earned the win after working 4.1 innings and giving up two runs. Austin Warren picked up the save after blanking the Huskies’ over the final three frames and fanning five. For Northeastern, Ryan Solomon was 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBI’s. The CAA championship was the fifth overall for UNCW. Weiss was chosen as the tournament’s Most Outstanding Performer.
FIVE CAA PITCHERS ON PRESTIGIOUS LIST: Five CAA pitchers were among a group of 20 semifinalists for the National Pitcher of the Year award from the College Baseball Foundation. Making the list were Elon’s Kyle Brnovich, Charleston’s Carter Love and Evan Sisk, Northeastern’s Sean Mellen and Hofstra’s John Rooney. Brnovich and Rooney were also among 25 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award as the nation’s top collegiate player.
MCCONNELL, ROONEY HEADLINE ALL-CAA TEAM: Northeastern junior outfielder Charlie McConnell was chosen as the CAA Player of the Year, becoming the first NU player to receive the award. McConnell finished third in the CAA with a .347 batting average, was fourth in the league with 48 runs scored and stole a program-record 37 bases. Hofstra junior left-hander John Rooney was named CAA Pitcher of the Year, becoming the first Pride hurler to earn the honor. Rooney finished 8-2 with a 1.23 ERA and struck out 108 batters. Also receiving major awards were Charleston second baseman Dupree Hart as CAA Defensive Player of the Year and Northeastern infielder Ian Fair and Delaware pitcher Billy Sullivan IV as Co-Rookies of the Year. Northeastern’s Mike Glavine was named CAA Coach of the Year for the second straight season.