DALLAS (NCBWA) – One of the youngest, but most talented squads, was honored with the announcement of the 15th annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association preseason All-America team Monday. The group features numerous standouts from powers such as defending College World Series champion Vanderbilt, runner-up Virginia and 17 Division I conferences nationwide.
Interestingly, there were no returning position players from the first team of the 18th annual 2014 NCAA postseason All-America selections, but returning No. 1 crew starting pitchers Blake Fox (12-0 record, 1.46 ERA) of Rice and Casey Bloomquist (12-2, 1.56 ERA) of Cal Poly highlight a solid group of mound standouts returning for 2015 from the All-America ranks.
They are joined by post-2014 second-team stalwarts outfielder DJ Stewart (.351, 7 homers, 50 RBIs) of Florida State and starting pitchers Kyle Funkhouser (13-3, 1.94 ERA) of Louisville, Atlantic Coast Conference 2014 Pitcher of the Year Nathan Kirby (9-3, 2.06) of Virginia and 2014 Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year Preston Morrison (9-4, 1.32 ERA) of TCU on the first unit of the 2015 NCBWA elite squadron.
Also in that set of standouts are starting pitchers Walker Buehler (12-2, 2.64) and Carson Fulmer (7-1, 1.98) of Vanderbilt along with relief aces Riley Ferrell (3-1, 0.79 ERA, 15 saves) of TCU, David Berg (the 2013 NCBWA Stopper of the Year, (3-2, 1.50 ERA, 11 saves) of UCLA, Bryan Garcia (7-4, 1.75 ERA, 15 saves) of Miami (Fla.), and Matt Ditman (5-6, 1.83 ERA, nine saves) of Rice. The entire first team pitching staff consists of underclassmen except for the senior Berg.
Among the first-team position players are such nationally-recognized stalwarts as Florida Gulf Coast 2B Jake Noll (.367, 18 2B, 29 RBI, 25SB), San Diego State 3B Ty France (.356, 18 2B, 5 HR, 45 RBI), Vanderbilt SS Dansby Swanson (.333, 27 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 34 RBI), Michigan utility player Jacob Cronenworth (1.75 ERA, 12 saves, 2 HR, 28 RBI, 19 SB), and FSU’s Stewart dot the roster.
The initial two units also contain starting pitchers with a combined win-loss mark of 115-26 and relief hurlers with a composite 103 saves. The three teams chosen with consultation with individual schools’ media relations offices and the NCBWA All-America committee also boast the likes of 2013 SEC Freshman of the Year and Brooks Wallace Award SS Alex Bregman of LSU, All-Mountain West Conference 1B Austin Byler (.326, 14 2Bs, 14 HR, 54RBIs) of Nevada, All-Big 12 Conference 1B Eric Gutierrez (.302, 18 2B, 12 HR, 58 RBI) of Texas Tech, All-Atlantic Coast Conference OF Joe McCarthy (.301, 16 2B, 6 HR, 49RBI) of Virginia, catchers Zach Collins (.298, 14 2B, 11 HR, 54 RBI) of Miami, Fla., and All-Missouri Valley Conference Paul DeJong (.349, 21 2B, 9 HR, 48 RBI) of Illinois State, and All-Ohio Valley Conference Travis Stout (3-1, 1.82 ERA, 15 saves) of Jacksonville State, among others.
The selections prior to the historic 156th season of intercollegiate baseball will be striving to make the 69th annual DI World Series in Omaha, Neb., on June 13-23/24, along with the prestigious Dick Howser Trophy presented by the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Chamber of Commerce on Saturday, June 13, at TD Ameritrade Stadium.
2015 NCBWA DIVISION I PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA TEAM
Pos. First Team School Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown
C Zack Collins Miami 6-3 220 So. Pembroke Pines, Fla.
1B Eric Gutierrez Texas Tech 5-10 205 Jr. Mission, Texas
2B Jake Noll Florida Gulf Coast 6-2 195 So. Punta Gorda, Fla.
3B Ty France San Diego State 6-0 205 Jr. West Covina, Calif.
SS Dansby Swanson Vanderbilt 6-1 190 Jr. Marietta, Ga,
OF DJ Stewart Florida State 6-0 230 Jr. Yulee, Fla.
OF Bryan Reynolds Vanderbilt 6-2 210 So. Brentwood, Tenn.
OF Joe McCarthy Virginia 6-3 215 Jr. Scranton, Pa.
OF Casey Jones Elon 6-1 198 Sr. Midlothian, Va.
DH Corbin Olmstead North Florida 6-3 210 Jr. Tampa, Fla.
UT Jacob Cronenworth Michigan 6-1 167 Jr. St. Clair, Mich.
SP Kyle Funkhouser Louisville 6-3 225 Jr. Oak Forest, Ill.
SP Walker Buehler Vanderbilt 6-2 175 Jr. Lexington, Ky.
SP Blake Fox Rice 6-4 220 Jr. Bellaire, Texas
SP Carson Fulmer Vanderbilt 6-0 195 Jr. Lakeland, Fla.
SP Nathan Kirby Virginia 6-2 185 Jr. Midlothian, Va.
SP Casey Bloomquist Cal Poly 6-3 185 Jr. Bakersfield, Calif.
RP Riley Ferrell TCU 6-1 200 Jr. College Station, Texas
RP David Berg UCLA 6-0 194 Sr. Covina, Calif.
RP Bryan Garcia Miami 6-1 205 So. Miami, Fla.
RP Matt Ditman Rice 6-1 205 Jr. Richmond, Texas
Second Team: C Paul DeJong, Illinois State, Jr.; 1B Austin Byler, Nevada, Sr.; 2B Mark Mathias, Cal Poly, Jr.; SS Blake Trahan, UL-Lafayette, Jr.; 3B Andrew Knizner, NC State, So.; OF Brandon Rawe, Morehead State, Sr.; OF Kyle Survance, Houston, Jr.; OF Alex Liquori, Kennesaw State, Jr.; OF Jeff Hendrix, Oregon State, Jr.; DH Blaise Salter, Michigan State, Sr.; UT Curtis Jones, Houston Baptist, Sr.; SP Brandon Waddell, Virginia, Jr.; SP Tyler Davis, Washington, Sr.; SP Thomas Eshelman, Cal State Fullerton, Jr.; SP Preston Morrison, TCU, Sr.; SP Cole Irvin, Oregon, So.; RP Sam Moore, UC Irvine; RP Reilly Hovis, North Carolina, Jr.; RP Brandon Koch, Dallas Baptist, Jr.; RP Travis Stout, Jacksonville State, Sr.
Third Team (ties in voting): C John Clay Reeves, Rice, Sr.; 1B Sikes Orvis, Mississippi, Sr.; 2B Brad Strong, Western Carolina, Sr.; SS Alex Bregman, LSU, Jr.; Dylan Bosheers, Tennessee Tech, Sr.; 3B Connor Panas, Canisius, Sr.; OF Ian Happ, Cincinnati, Jr.; OF Steven Duggar, Clemson, Jr.; OF Tate Matheny, Missouri State, Jr.; DH Paschal Petrongolo, Jacksonville State, Jr.; UT Bobby Dalbec, Arizona, So.; SP Christian Trent, Mississippi, Jr.; SP James Kaprielian, UCLA, Jr.; SP Mike Murray, Florida Gulf Coast, Jr.; SP Taylor Clarke, Coll. of Charleston, Jr.; SP Tyler Alexander, TCU, So.; RP Skylar Hunter, The Citadel, Jr.; RP Andres Gracia, Samford, Sr.; RP Hayden Stone, Vanderbilt, So.; RP Tyler Jay, Illinois, Jr.
Complete release with statistics (.pdf)
