UNCW's Jones, Elon's Kirby Take Top Honors On 2019 All-CAA Baseball Team
Rob Washburn
Click the play button on the photo above to watch the awards announcement
RICHMOND, Va. (May 21, 2019) – UNCW sophomore shortstop
Greg Jones was chosen as the 2019 CAA baseball Player of the Year, while Elon junior right-hander
George Kirby received CAA Pitcher of the Year accolades as the conference announced its post-season award winners on Tuesday.
Other top honors went to Delaware freshman first baseman
Joseph Carpenter as CAA Rookie of the Year, Charleston senior shortstop
Luke Manzo as CAA Defensive Player of the Year and Elon’s
Mike Kennedy as CAA Coach of the Year.
Jones became UNCW’s third Bill Brooks CAA Player of the Year honoree in the past four seasons after excelling as the sparkplug at the top of the Seahawks’ lineup. He ranked third in the league with a .333 batting average and led the conference in runs scored (62), triples (8), walks (48) and on-base percentage (.482). The speedy shortstop swiped 37 bases, which ranks ninth nationally, and provided some power with 10 doubles, five homers and 29 RBI’s. Jones was also solid defensively, recording a team-best 125 assists. He is the first shortstop since 2010 to be selected as the CAA Player of the Year.
Kirby is Elon’s first CAA Pitcher of the Year following an impressive campaign on the mound. The hard-throwing right-hander posted an 8-1 record and ranked second in the CAA with a 2.07 ERA. He surrendered only 62 hits in 82.2 innings and held opponents to a .203 batting average. Kirby was fourth in the CAA with 105 strikeouts, and most impressively, issued only six walks. He leads the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio (17.5) and walks per nine innings (0.65), ranks fourth in Division I in WHIP (0.82) and ninth in complete games (3).
Carpenter started all 54 games and led Delaware with a .300 batting average, a figure that ranked second among all CAA freshmen. The Blue Hens’ first baseman contributed 10 doubles, four triples, five homers and was second on the team with 37 RBI’s. He put together a 24-game hitting streak during the season and closed the year by reaching base safely in 43 of his last 45 contests.
Manzo had a great year at shortstop, committing only seven errors in 251 chances defensively for a .972 fielding percentage. The senior led the CAA with 164 assists and played a key role for a Charleston squad that led the league and ranked 52
nd nationally in fielding percentage (.976). Offensively, Manzo batted .271, drove in 25 runs and stole 15 bases.
Kennedy received Coach of the Year honors for the first time after guiding Elon to its first CAA regular-season title with a 19-5 mark. The Phoenix won seven of its eight conference series, including four series sweeps. Elon strung together 12 consecutive CAA victories at one point and reached the 30-win mark (30-22) for the 17
th time in his 23-year career.
Charleston had a league-high four players on the All-CAA first team. Representing the Cougars were senior catcher
Danny Wondrack (.324, 14 HR, 50 RBI’s), senior second baseman
Dupree Hart (.306, 44 RBI’s, 40 SB), senior outfielder
Bradley Dixon (.314, 34 R, 22 SB) and junior pitcher
Griffin McLarty (8-4, 2.04 ERA, 108 K’s). UNCW had three first-team honorees as Jones was joined by junior third baseman
Cole Weiss (.310, 3 HR, 43 RBI’s) and junior outfielder
Kep Brown (.279, 7 HR, 52 RBI’s).
Along with Kirby, Elon junior first baseman
Joe Satterfield (.342, 3 HR, 33 RBI) received first-team status. James Madison had junior utility player
Fox Semones (.254, 28 RBI’s, 11 SB) and sophomore closer
Nick Robertson (5-1, 8 svs., 0.56 ERA). Rounding out the squad were Delaware sophomore outfielder
Jordan Hutchins (.272, 4 HR, 42 RBI’s) and Northeastern sophomore designated hitter
Ian Fair (.343, 7 HR, 30 RBI’s).
The 2019 CAA Baseball Championship gets underway on Wednesday from James Madison’s Veterans Memorial Park in Harrisonburg, Va. Six teams will battle for the league title and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament in the double-elimination event.
2019 ALL-CAA BASEBALL TEAM
(selected by CAA Head Baseball Coaches)
FIRST TEAM
Player, School Pos. Cl. Hometown/High School
Danny Wondrack, Charleston C Sr. Wall, N.J./Wall
Joe Satterfield, Elon 1B Jr. Greenville, S.C./J.L. Mann
Dupree Hart, Charleston 2B Sr. Rock Hill, S.C./Northwestern
Greg Jones, UNCW SS So. Cary, N.C./Cary
Cole Weiss, UNCW 3B Jr. Winston-Salem, N.C./Mount Tabor
Kep Brown, UNCW OF Jr. Charleston, S.C./Wando
Bradley Dixon, Charleston OF Sr. Greenwood, S.C./Emerald
Jordan Hutchins, Delaware OF So. Dover, Del./Dover
Fox Semones, James Madison UT Jr. Woodbrige, Va./Hylton
Ian Fair, Northeastern DH So. Walpole, Mass./Walpole
George Kirby, Elon SP Jr. Rye, N.Y./Rye
Griffin McLarty, Charleston SP Jr. Buckner, Ky./Oldham County
Nick Robertson, James Madison RP So. Callaway, Va./Franklin County
2019 BILL BROOKS CAA PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Greg Jones, SS, UNCW
2019 CAA PITCHER OF THE YEAR: George Kirby, RHP, Elon
2019 CAA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Luke Manzo, SS, Charleston
2019 CAA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Joseph Carpenter, 1B, Delaware
2019 CAA COACH OF THE YEAR: Mike Kennedy, Elon
SECOND TEAM
Player, School Pos. Cl. Hometown/High School
Vito Friscia, Hofstra C Sr. Valley Stream, N.Y./Valley Stream Central
Jake Farrell, Northeastern 1B Sr. Westwood, Mass./Xaverian Brothers
Jackson Meadows, UNCW 2B Jr. Lexington, N.C./North Davidson
Cam Devanney, Elon SS Jr. Amherst, N.H./Central Catholic
Zach Pearson, William & Mary 3B Sr. Houston, Texas/Mirabeau B. Lamar
Noah Bridges, UNCW OF So. Benson, N.C./South Johnston
Jeff Costello, Northeastern OF So. Lexington, Mass./Buckingham Browne & Nichols
Anthony Galason, Elon OF Fr. Colts Neck, N.J./Colts Neck
Jimmy Joyce, Hofstra UT So. Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh
Hunter Smith, William & Mary DH Sr. Caldwell, N.J./James Caldwell
Sean Mellen, Northeastern SP Jr. Norwood, Mass./Norwood
Jared Wetherbee, Elon SP So. Fiskdale, Mass./Avon Old Farms
Nathan Ocker, Charleston RP Sr. Middletown, Pa./Middletown Area
THIRD TEAM
Player, School Pos. Cl. Hometown/High School
Matthew Trehub, William & Mary C Jr. Southborough, Mass./BB&N
Chaz Davey, Charleston 1B Sr. North Augusta, S.C./North Augusta
Jake Rosen, Northeastern 2B Jr. Northborough, Mass./Saint John’s
Scott Holzwasser, Northeastern SS Jr. Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury
Trevon Dabney, James Madison 3B Fr. Douglassville, Pa./Berks Catholic
Ty Adcock, Elon OF Jr. Oxford, N.C./South Granville
Kevin Mohollen, Delaware OF Sr. Rose Valley, Pa./Strath-Haven
Brandon Raquet, William & Mary OF Jr. Boalsburg, Pa./State College
Kyle Novak, James Madison DH Fr. Oakton, Va./James Madison
Kyle Brnovich, Elon SP Jr. Milton, Ga./Kings Ridge Christian
Bodie Sheehan, William & Mary SP Sr. Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial
Ty Adcock, Elon RP Jr. Oxford, N.C./South Granville
Andrew Misiaszek, Northeastern RP Sr. Oceanside, N.Y./South Side
CAA ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Player, School Pos. Cl. Hometown/High School
Joseph Carpenter, Delaware 1B Fr. Cornwall, Pa./Cedar Crest
Austin Colmery, Delaware OF Fr. Newark, Del./St. Mark’s
Trevon Dabney, James Madison 3B Fr. Douglassville, Pa./Berks Catholic
Corey DiLoreto, Northeastern OF Fr. Reading, Mass./Reading Memorial
Anthony D’Onofrio, Hofstra OF Fr. Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh
Javon Fields, Towson OF Fr. Bear, Del./Appoquinimink
Anthony Galason, Elon OF Fr. Colts Neck, N.J./Colts Neck
Kyle Novak, James Madison DH Fr. Oakton, Va./James Madison
Ryan Rue, Hofstra LHP Fr. Fair Lawn, N.J./Fair Lawn
Joey Silan, Delaware RHP Fr. Newark, Del./Caravel Academy
Zach Tsakounis, William & Mary LHP Fr. Arlington, Va./St. John’s College