NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is pleased to unveil the members of the 2014 All-NECBL First and Second Teams, as well as the league’s annual End-of-Year Awards, it was announced by Commissioner Sean McGrath Thursday.
Comprised of a position player at each spot on the diamond, a designated hitter, three starting pitchers and a closer on each side, the league honored 26 student-athletes on their outstanding summers in the New England League, as South Division regular season champion Plymouth capped off a historic season with a league-high eight all-NECBL selections, including five first-team choices.
Laconia led all North Division squads with five all-league choices, as two Muskrats were earned all-league first team honors while three more found a spot on the all-league second team; Mystic tied those numbers with an identical number of honorees on both the first team and second team, respectively.
The 2014 Fay Vincent Sr. Cup champion Newport Gulls, who completed another remarkable run to a their league-record sixth title just last week, boasted two first-team selections and one second-team representative but boasted the league’s Top Pro Prospect and Rick Ligi Most Valuable Player selection in rising senior Blaise Salter (Michigan State), who finished the summer with nine homers, 42 RBI and a slash line of .328 / .385 / .471 to pace the Gulls to the championship.
Meanwhile for the Pilgrims, who enjoyed an incredible second year in the league after winning a league-best 31 wins during the regular season, saw rising sophomore right-hander Thomas Jankins (Quinnipiac) take home the Robin Roberts Best Starting Pitcher Award after setting a new single-season league ERA record (0.40) while striking out 41 and posting a 1.290 WHIP on the summer.
Other major award winners included Rookie of the Year Blake Tiberi of Vermont, Top Relief Pitcher Cam Hatch of the runner-up Sanford Mainers, Joel Cooney Manager of the Year Greg Zackrinson of Plymouth, and Sportsman of the Year Vinny Zarrillo of Laconia.
For a full list of award winners and All-NECBL honorees, scroll down! The NECBL congratulates all of its incredible student-athletes on another unforgettable summer and wishes all of its graduates the best of luck in all of their future endeavors, both in baseball and beyond.
| 1st Team All-NECBL | 2nd Team All-NECBL | |
| C | Logan Koch, Plymouth (South Carolina) | Ethan Ferreira, Ocean State (Harvard) |
| 1B | Blaise Salter, Newport (Michigan St.) | Vin Guglietti, Plymouth (Quinnipiac) |
| 2B | Dan Hoy, Mystic (Princeton) | Thomas Roulis, Plymouth (Dartmouth) |
| SS | Tommy Edman, Newport (Stanford) | Aaron Hill, Mystic (UConn) |
| 3B | Blake Tiberi, Vermont (Louisville) | Braxton Martinez, Laconia (St. Louis) |
| OF | Trey Amburgey, Vermont (St. Petersburg) | Jordan Mountford, Ocean State (Bryant) |
| OF | Vinny Zarrillo, Laconia (Rutgers) | Colton Bottomley, Laconia (FGCU) |
| OF | Michael Martin, Plymouth (Harvard) | Toby Handley, Mystic (Stony Brook) |
| DH | Steve Laurino, Mystic (Marist) | Brad Zunica, Mystic (Miami) |
| P | Thomas Jankins, Plymouth (Quinnipiac) | John Kilichowski, Newport (Vanderbilt) |
| P | Nicholas Berger, Plymouth (Northeastern) | Jack English, Laconia (FGCU) |
| P | Shea Spitzbarth, Laconia (Molloy) | Danny Garcia, Plymouth (Miami) |
| Closer | Vincenzo Aiello, Plymouth (Rider) | Cam Hatch, Sanford (St. Edwards) |
| Top Pro Prospect | Blaise Salter, Newport (Michigan St.) |
| Rick Ligi Most Valuable Player | Blaise Salter, Newport (Michigan St.) |
| Christopher Ashmos 10th Player | David MacKinnon, New Bedford (Hartford) |
| Robin Roberts Best Starting Pitcher | Thomas Jankins, Plymouth (Quinnipiac) |
| Best Defensive Player | Tommy Edman, Newport (Stanford) |
| Top Relief Pitcher | Cam Hatch, Sanford (St. Edwards) |
| Rookie of the Year | Blake Tiberi, Vermont (Louisville) |
| Most Improved | Vin Guglietti, Plymouth (Quinnipiac) |
| Sportsman of the Year | Vinny Zarrillo, Laconia (Rutgers) |
| Joel Cooney Manager of the Year | Greg Zackrinson, Plymouth (Stonehill) |
| Umpire of the Year | John Leeds |
