June 11, 2008

NCBWA Release in PDF Format

Four Conference USA players have been named to the 2008 Pro-Line Athletic/NCBWA All-American team, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association announced on Wednesday. Tulane junior P Shooter Hunt, the C-USA Pitcher of the Year, and Southern Miss senior reliever Tyler Conn were both named as first team All-Americans, while East Carolina senior C Corey Kemp, the C-USA Player of the Year and UAB senior 1B Ryan Keedy, the runner-up for C-USA Player of the Year, were both named to the third team.

Hunt led Tulane and Conference USA in opponent batting average (.175), total strikeouts (126), and strikeouts looking (48). Hunt also led the team with nine wins and paced the club while ranking second in the conference with a 2.68 ERA and topped the circuit with 100.2 innings pitched. With 126 strikeouts, Hunt becomes the fourth Tulane hurler in as many years to eclipse the 100-K mark in a season. In addition, Hunt ranks fifth in the NCAA in strikeouts and hits allowed per nine innings (5.54) and 12th in strikeouts per nine innings (11.26). His .175 opponent batting average in 2008 is a Tulane single-season record, surpassing the former mark of .203 set by Jason Navarro in 1997, and is fifth in strikeout-per-nine-inning average (11.26).

Conn, with an NCAA-leading and Conference USA single season record-breaking 18 saves, was the automatic qualifier among the five finalists for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award. The junior southpaw was 1-0 with a 1.72 earned run average and 42 strikeouts in 31 relief appearances (36.2 innings pitched). The first team All-C-USA selection converted on all 18 save opportunities while allowing but three earned runs and two extra-base hits in the regular season while helping lead the Golden Eagles to their sixth straight NCAA regional.

Kemp became the second Pirate to be named C-USA Player of the Year. He was one of the most productive hitters in Conference USA all season long, leading the league RBI (72) and ranking second in home runs (16), while batting .341 with a .628 slugging percentage. Kemp produced 23 multi-hit and 20 multi-RBI games and had 11 game-winning RBI. In 24 conference games, he batted .319 with 10 homers and 38 RBI.

Keedy became the fourth Blazer all-time to be named an All-American after posting the third highest single-season batting average in school history this past season and fourth highest in Conference USA history (.423). He joins Jay Cole (1994), Shayne Carnes (1998) and Mitch Jones (2000) as All-America selections from UAB. Keedy set the UAB school record for doubles in a single-season with 29 and tied a school record with 99 hits in 2008, while also finishing with 69 RBI to rank fifth all-time at UAB. He had 46 walks to help him boast an on base percentage of .519, which is the second highest figure in Conference USA history.

The 2008 NCBWA All-America Team is comprised of teams from 19 different conferences and 17 conference championships teams. The three All-America squads are also made up of 24 conference "Player of the Year" winners.

Pro-Line Athletic is in its fourth year as a sponsor of the NCBWA. It produces and distributes plaques for National Hitter and Pitchers of the Week during the regular season and extends its award production to include plaques for each member of the Pro-Line/NCBWA All-American team.