UNCW's Golden, Royalty take home CAA top honors
WILMINGTON, NC (UNCW News Release) - For the second consecutive season, UNCW captured both the Colonial Athletic Association Player and Pitcher of the Year awards as senior Casey Golden was named the league's Player of the Year and sophomore Alex Royalty earned Pitcher of the Year honors.
Both were also named first-team All-CAA along with sophomore catcher Ryan Jeffers and junior designated hitter Nick Feight. UNCW placed eight players on tall-conference squads.
Junior Brian Mims was named to the second team at second base and sophomore Clark Cota was on the third team as a relief pitcher.
Freshman Zarion Sharpe and senior Robbie Thorburn were named to the All-Rookie and All-Academic teams, respectively.
Golden is the sixth Seahawk to be named CAA Player of the Year. The outfielder from Siler City, NC, leads the league lead with a career-high 18 home runs, 130 total bases and a .622 slugging percentage. Golden, who moved into the leadoff spot early in the season, ranked third in the CAA with 50 runs scored.
Royalty enters the postseason with a conference-leading eight wins after matching his 8-2 mark from his freshman season. The righthander tops the conference with 90.2 innings pitched and is tied for the league with 98 strikeouts. The Raleigh, NC, native has won his last five decisions and was named CAA Pitcher of the Week on Monday after tossing eight innings of four-hit, shutout baseball in a win at Towson. It was his second Pitcher of the Week award this season.
Since the Pitcher of the Year award was instituted in 2014, UNCW hurlers have won it four times, including Ryan Foster in 2016 and Mat Batts in 2013 and 2014.
Jeffers was named to the All-CAA first team in his first season as a starter after recording a team-high 17 doubles and 10 home runs. Nine of his homers came in conference play. Jeffers ranks among the conference leaders in doubles, home runs, total bases (106) and slugging percentage (.602).
Feight repeated as a first-team honoree after hitting 14 home runs and driving in a team-best 46 runs, which ranks third in the league. Feight also is seventh in the CAA with 67 hits and eighth with 43 runs scored.
Mims enters the tournament ranked fifth in the CAA with a team-high 68 hits and a .319 batting average. The Montclair, Va., native has scored 33 runs and knocked in 32 with six stolen bases.
Cota stepped into the closer role as a sophomore and responded with a 2-1 record and four saves in 18 innings. The righthander struck out 27 in 22 innings and held opponents to a .160 batting average.
Sharpe stepped into the UNCW rotation and posted a 6-1 record in 11 appearances, including nine starts. The lefthander has won his last six decisions and has struck out 43 in 53 innings while limiting batters to a .214 average.
Thorburn was an All-Academic selection after hitting .296 with 34 runs scored and 23 knocked in. He has fielded 137 chances without an error this spring.
2017 ALL-CAA BASEBALL TEAM
(selected by CAA head baseball coaches)
Player, School Pos. Cl. Hometown/High School 2017 Stats
Ryan Jeffers, UNCW C So. Raleigh, N.C./Sanderson .313, 10 HR, 32 RBI's
Nick Patten, Delaware 1B So. Butler, Pa./IMG Academy (Fla.) .306, 13 HR, 45 RBI's
Cullen Large, William & Mary 2B Jr. Chesterfield, Va./James River .344, 6 HR, 38 RBI's
Ryne Ogren, Elon SS So. Devon, Pa./Conestoga .358, 4 HR, 33 RBI's
Tommy Richter, Col. of Charleston 3B Jr. Wayne, Pa./Conestoga .362, 1 HR, 24 RBI's
Jordan Glover, Delaware OF Sr. Marlton, N.J./Cherokee .331, 10 HR, 44 RBI's
Casey Golden, UNCW OF Sr. Siler City, N.C./Jordan-Matthews .306, 18 HR, 36 RBI's
Logan McRae, Col. of Charleston OF So. Florence, S.C./West Florence .322, 15 HR, 58 RBI's
Teddy Cillis, Hofstra UT Jr. Latham, N.Y./Blair Academy .280, 6 HR, 27 RBI's
Nick Feight, UNCW DH Jr. Gainesville, Va./Battlefield .299, 14 HR, 46 RBI's
Kyle Brnovich, Elon SP Fr. Milton, Ga./Kings Ridge Christian 6-4, 3.13 ERA, 96 K's
Alex Royalty, UNCW SP So. Raleigh, N.C./Millbrook 8-2, 3.38 ERA, 98 K's
Burk FitzPatrick, Delaware RP Sr. Berwyn, Pa./Episcopal Academy 2-0, 5 svs., 3.24 ERA
2017 CAA PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Casey Golden, OF, UNCW
2017 CAA PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Alex Royalty, RHP, UNCW
2017 CAA DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Max Burt, SS, Northeastern
2017 CAA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Kyle Brnovich, RHP, Elon
2017 CAA COACH OF THE YEAR: Mike Glavine, Northeastern
SECOND TEAM
Player, School Pos. Cl. Hometown/High School 2017 Stats
Brian Mayer, Delaware C Sr. Brick, N.J./Brick Township .328, 10 HR, 35 RBI's
Cam Hanley, Northeastern 1B Sr. Walpole, Mass./Walpole .323, 4 HR, 40 RBI's
Brian Mims, UNCW 2B Jr. Montclair, Va./Forest Park .319, 7 HR, 34 RBI's
Jeremy Ake, Delaware SS Sr. Readington, N.J./Hunterdon Central .354, 2 HR, 37 RBI's
David Leiderman, Hofstra 3B Sr. Merrick, N.Y./Bellmore JFK .263, 3 HR, 16 RBI's
Kyle Jackson, Elon OF Sr. Atlanta, Ga./Mount Pisgah .311, 12 HR, 50 RBI's
Brandon Raquet, William & Mary OF Fr. Boalsburg, Pa./State College .337, 3 HR, 20 RBI's
Adam Sisk, James Madison OF Jr. Fairfax, Va./Robinson .337, 11 HR, 41 RBI's
Charlie McConnell, Northeastern UT So. Reading, Mass./Belmont Hill School .279, 2 HR, 16 RBI's, 13 SB
Doug Trimble, Delaware DH Sr. Rosemont, Pa./Episcopal .343, 6 HR, 43 RBI's
Ron Marinaccio, Delaware SP Jr. Toms River, N.J./Toms River North 3-2, 3 svs, 2.19 ERA, 60 K's
Evan Sisk, Col. of Charleston SP So. Chester, S.C./Lewisville 5-1, 3.33 ERA, 46 K's
Carter Love, Col. of Charleston RP Jr. Charlotte, N.C./Ardrey Kell 2-4, 2 svs, 3.66 ERA
THIRD TEAM
Player, School Pos. Cl. Hometown/High School 2017 Stats
Hayden Platt, Elon C Jr. Naples, Fla./Naples .319, 7 HR, 30 RBI's
Brett Johnson, James Madison 1B Sr. Charlottesville, Va./St. Anne's-Belfield .301, 11 HR, 42 RBI's
Nick Tierno, Delaware 2B Sr. Voorhees, N.J./Eastern .325, 2 HR, 17 RBI's
Max Burt, Northeastern SS Jr. North Andover, Mass./St. John's Prep .310, 4 HR, 29 RBI's
Diaz Nardo, Delaware 3B Jr. Harbeson, Del./Cape Henlopen .269, 5 HR, 35 RBI's
Fox Semones, James Madison UT Fr. Woodbridge, Va./Hylton .316, 3 HR, 21 RBI's
Ryder Miconi, William & Mary DH Sr. Guilford, Conn./Guilford .319, 9 HR, 45 RBI's
Ryan Hall, William & Mary OF Jr. Richmond, Va./Cosby .299, 6 HR, 39 RBI's
Kevin Mohollen, Delaware OF So. Rose Valley, Pa./Strath-Haven .314, 2 HR, 28 RBI's
Calvin Scott, Delaware OF Jr. Newark, Del./St. Mark's .350, 3 HR, 39 RBI's
Brian Christian, Northeastern SP Jr. Plymouth, Mass./Plymouth North 7-2, 3.45 ERA, 78 K's
Mike Fitzgerald, Northeastern SP Sr. Holland, Pa./Germantown Acad. 4-1, 4 svs, 3.21 ERA
Clark Cota, UNCW RP So. Hampstead, N.C./Topsail 2-1, 4 svs, 3.27 ERA
Player, School Pos. Cl. Hometown/High School 2017 Stats
Kyle Brnovich, Elon P Fr. Milton, Ga./Kings Ridge Christian 6-4, 3.13 ERA, 96 K's
Jakob Frishmuth, Col. of Charleston P Fr. Myrtle Beach, S.C./Carolina Forest 3-5, 5.90 ERA, 31 K's
Scott Holzwasser, Northeastern IF Fr. Sudbury, Mass./Lincoln-Sudbury .259, 6 HR, 27 RBI's
Kevin Kelly, James Madison P Fr. Springfield, Va./Paul VI 5-3, 1 sv, 2.91 ERA, 38 K's
George Kirby, Elon P Fr. Rye, N.Y/Rye 1-3, 2 svs, 5.12 ERA, 52 K's
Brandon Raquet, William & Mary OF Fr. Boalsburg, Pa./State College .337, 3 HR, 20 RBI's
Brian Rodriguez, Northeastern P Fr. Yonkers, N.Y./Berkshire School 4-3, 1 sv, 2.57 ERA, 27 K's
Patrick Ryan, William & Mary IF Fr. McLean, Va./Bishop O'Connell .256, 1 HR, 14 RBI's
Fox Semones, James Madison IF Fr. Woodbridge, Va./Hylton .316, 3 HR, 21 RBI's
Zarion Sharpe, UNCW P Fr. Greenville, N.C./Oakwood School 6-1, 4.25 ERA, 43 K's
Player, School Pos. Cl. Hometown/Previous School
Tom Archer, Hofstra IF So. Northport, N.Y./St. John The Baptist
Matt Golczewski, Towson P Sr. Bel Air, Md./Patterson Mill
Brett Johnson, James Madison 1B Sr. Charlottesville, Va./St. Anne's-Belfield
Nolan Lang, Northeastern IF Jr. Orlando, Fla./Dr. Phillips
Carter Love, Col. of Charleston P Jr. Charlotte, N.C./Ardrey Kell
Brian Mayer, Delaware C Gr. Brick, N.J./Brick Township
Ryder Miconi, William & Mary IF Sr. Guilford, Conn./Guilford
Ryne Ogren, Elon IF So. Devon, Pa./Conestoga
Robbie Thorburn, UNCW OF Sr. Raleigh, N.C./Cardinal Gibbons
