FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Clemson junior shortstop Brad Miller and Virginia junior pitcher Danny Hultzen head up the 2011 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Team, as announced today by Commissioner John Swofford.
Miller was selected the ACC Player of the Year in a vote of the league’s 12 head coaches, while Hultzen was named the ACC Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive season.
In addition, North Carolina freshman third baseman Colin Moran received ACC Freshman of the Year honors, while Virginia’s Brian O’Connor was voted the league’s Coach of the Year for the second year in a row.
Miller, a native of Windermere, Fla., leads the ACC in batting with a .431 average – 61 points higher than the next-highest hitter. Despite missing seven early-season games due to injury, Miller is tied for fourth in the conference in stolen bases (21). Eighteen of Miller’s 72 hits have gone for extra bases, and he has driven in 44 runs to help key the Tigers to a 39-17 overall record, a consensus national top-20 ranking and an RPI that ranks among the nation’s top 10.
With a .426 batting average in ACC games, Miller also led all players’ in that category. His selection as ACC Player of the Year increases Clemson’s number in that category to a conference-high 12. Miller is the first Tiger to receive the honor since Khalil Greene in 2002.
Hultzen becomes the first player to claim back-to-back ACC Pitcher of the Year honors since the award was established in 2005. It is the third major conference award for the Bethesda, Md., native, who also was named the 2009 ACC Freshman of the Year.
Hultzen has posted a 9-3 record and a 1.49 ERA while leading the Cavaliers (45-9) to a share of the ACC Coastal Division title and a No. 1 national ranking for much of the season. His 131 strikeouts lead the conference and rank second nationally. The junior lefthander owns a 29-5 career record for an .853 winning percentage that currently ranks 19th all-time among ACC pitchers.
Moran, of Rye, N.Y., leads the ACC with 67 RBI in 56 games. Moran is fourth in the conference in batting at .355, and his .389 mark in conference games ranked second only to Clemson’s Miller. Moran is just the fourth freshman in North Carolina school history to drive in at least 60 runs in a season, a major reason the Tar Heels carry a 44-12 mark into this week’s ACC Championship at Durham, N.C.
Virginia’s O’Connor received his second straight ACC Coach of the Year Award and his third overall after guiding the Cavaliers to at least a share of the Coastal Division title and the No. 1 seed in the ACC Championship for the second straight year. Virginia’s 45 wins tie for third-best in school history and are six behind the record of 51 set last season.
O’ Connor’s Cavaliers placed a league-high seven players on the All-ACC first and second teams, including five first-team selections. Atlantic Division Champion Florida State and Coastal Division Co-Champion Georgia Tech each saw six players voted to the team, while five were chosen from Clemson and four from North Carolina.
Virginia’s Hultzen, Florida State senior outfielder/pitcher Mike McGee and Clemson senior outfielder Jeff Schaus were each voted to the team for the third time. Florida State junior pitcher Sean Gilmartin, Georgia Tech junior third baseman Matt Skole and Yellow Jackets’ junior pitcher Jed Bradley were each honored for the second time.
2011 All-ACC Baseball Team
FIRST TEAM
Name Cl. Position School
John Hicks Jr. Catcher Virginia
Pratt Maynard Jr. Catcher NC State
Richie Shaffer So. First Base Clemson
Devon Travis So. Second Base Florida State
Colin Moran Fr. Third Base North Carolina
Steven Proscia Jr. Third Base Virginia
Brad Miller Jr. Shortstop Clemson
James Ramsey Jr. Outfield Florida State
Kyle Wren Fr. Outfield Georgia Tech
David Coleman Sr. Outfield Virginia
Andrew Rash So. Outfield Virginia Tech
Mike McGee Sr. DH/Utility Florida State ***
Sean Gilmartin Jr. Starting Pitcher Florida State**
Mark Pope Jr. Starting Pitcher Georgia Tech
Danny Hultzen Jr. Starting Pitcher Virginia ***
Branden Kline So. Relief Pitcher Virginia
SECOND TEAM
Name Cl. Position School
Rafael Lopez Sr. Catcher Florida State
Jake Davies Jr. First Base Georgia Tech
Tommy Coyle So. Second Base North Carolina
Matt Skole Jr. Third Base Georgia Tech **
Levi Michael Jr. Shortstop North Carolina
Jeff Schaus Sr. Outfield Clemson***
Will Lamb Jr. Outfield Clemson
Nathan Melendres Jr. Outfield Miami
John Barr Sr. Outfield Virginia
Phil Pohl Jr. DH/Utility Clemson
Jed Bradley Jr. Starting Pitcher Georgia Tech**
Buck Farmer So. Starting Pitcher Georgia Tech
Patrick Johnson Sr. Starting Pitcher North Carolina
Tyler Wilson Sr. Starting Pitcher Virginia
Tim Cooney So. Starting Pitcher Wake Forest
Daniel Bennett Sr. Relief Pitcher Florida State
Player of the Year – Brad Miller, Clemson
Pitcher of the Year – Danny Hultzen, Virginia
Freshman of the Year – Colin Moran, North Carolina
Coach of the Year – Brian O’Connor, Virginia
** – Two-time first- or second-team selection
*** – Three time first- or second-team selection
