CLEARWATER, Fla. – Houston infielder Jake Scheiner and Tulane first baseman Hunter Williams, the two league leaders in total bases, were chosen as the American Athletic Conference Players of the Year by the conference’s eight head coaches.
UCF pitcher Robby Howell and Houston pitcher Trey Cumbie, who won nine games each, were chosen as The American’s Pitchers of the Year. UCF first baseman Rylan Thomas, who finished in the league’s top three in home runs and runs batted in, was the unanimous choice as the Rookie Position Player of the Year, while UConn’s Mason Feole was the choice as the Rookie Pitcher of the Year. UCF coach Greg Lovelady, who led the Knights to a share of the regular-season title in his first year in Orlando, was chosen by his counterparts as Coach of the Year.
Scheiner finished the regular season as The American’s leader in home runs (15), RBIs (52) and total bases (135), helping the Cougars to a share of the conference’s regular-season championship. Scheiner hit .337, good for ninth in The American, and had 33 extra-base hits among his 70 total hits. Scheiner, who saw action at second base, shortstop and third base in the regular season was a unanimous all-conference first team selection as well. He becomes the first Houston player to earn American Player of the Year honors.
Williams finished the regular season with a league-leading 84 hits to go with 10 home runs (seventh in The American) and 40 RBIs. He finished with 134 total bases, one shy of Scheiner’s league-leading total of 135, and was fourth in The American with a .570 slugging percentage. Williams was the unanimous choice of the coaches as the first team all-conference first baseman. He is the first Tulane player to be named as The American Player of the Year.
Howell went 9-0 with a 3.48 ERA in the regular season, finishing as the only regular starter to go undefeated in 2017 while leading UCF to a share of the regular-season title. He limited opponents to a .231 batting average and struck out 80 batters in 88.0 innings. Howell is UCF’s second American Pitcher of the Year winner, joining Eric Skoglund, who was chosen in 2014.
Cumbie led The American with a 2.02 ERA in the regular season and went 9-1 to help the Cougars finish tied with UCF atop the conference standings. He struck out 73 batters against 12 walks in 89.0 innings, held opposing batters to a .236 average, and finished the regular season with three straight complete game victories. Cumbie becomes the first Houston player to be named as The American’s Pitcher of the Year.
Thomas provided punch in the heart of UCF’s lineup as he hit .300 with a team-leading 13 home runs and 51 RBIs as a freshman. He finished seventh in The American in slugging (.538) and was third in home runs.
Feole became the second straight UConn player to be named Rookie Pitcher of the Year, following Tim Cate, who was the 2016 winner. Feole went 7-3 with a 3.10 ERA in 14 appearances as he struck out 72 batters in 78.1 innings.
Lovelady was named American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after he led the Knights, who were picked tied for seventh in the conference’s preseason poll, to a share of the league title. It is the third conference coach of the year honor for Lovelady, who was the 2014 and 2016 Horizon League Coach of the Year at Wright State.
Scheiner and Williams joined East Carolina second baseman Charlie Yorgen as the three unanimous first team all-conference choices. USF shortstop Kevin Merrell and Houston outfielder Corey Julks were repeat selections to the first team from last season.
2017 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE BASEBALL AWARDS
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Jake Scheiner, IF, Houston (Jr., Santa Rosa, Calif.)
Hunter Williams, 1B, Tulane (Sr., West Monroe, La.)
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE PITCHERS OF THE YEAR
Robby Howell, RHP, UCF (Sr., Fort White, Fla.)
Trey Cumbie, LHP, Houston (So., Lufkin, Texas)
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE ROOKIE POSITION PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Rylan Thomas, 1B, UCF (Fr., Winter Garden, Fla.) *
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE ROOKIE PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Mason Feole, LHP, UConn (Fr., Wakefield, R.I.)
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE COACH OF THE YEAR
Greg Lovelady, UCF
All-Conference Team
| First Team | ||||||
| Pos | Name | School | Cl | Hometown | 2017 Statistics | |
| P | Robby Howell 2 | UCF | Sr. | Fort White, Fla. | 9-0, 3.48 ERA, 2 CG, 88.0 IP, 80 K, .231 OBA | |
| P | Tim Cate 2 | UConn | So. | Manchester, Conn. | 4-3, 2.94 ERA 1 CG, 70.1 IP, 98 K, .262 OBA | |
| P | Mason Feole | UConn | Fr. | Wakefield, R.I. | 7-3, 3.10 ERA, 78.1 IP, 72 K, .254 OBA | |
| P | Trey Cumbie | Houston | So. | Lufkin, Texas | 9-1, 2.02 ERA, 89.0 IP, 73 K, .236 OBA | |
| RP | Bryce Tucker | UCF | So. | Apopka, Fla. | 2-2, 1.91 ERA, 9 SV, 33.0 IP, 52 K, .150 OBA | |
| C | Travis Watkins 2 | East Carolina | Sr. | Concord, N.C. | .343, 9 HR, 43 RBI, 12 2B, 1 3B | |
| 1B | Hunter Williams * | Tulane | Sr. | West Monroe, La. | .357, 10 HR, 40 RBI, 18 2B, 1 3B, 5 SB | |
| 2B | Charlie Yorgen * | East Carolina | Sr. | Richmond, Va. | .338, 4 HR, 34 RBI, 13 2B, 1 3B, 7 SB | |
| SS | Kevin Merrell 1 | USF | Jr. | Odessa, Fla. | .387, 6 HR, 33 RBI, 10 2B, 4 3B, 18 SB | |
| 3B | Eric Tyler | East Carolina | Sr. | Landis, N.C. | .342, 6 HR, 38 RBI, 17 2B, 6 SB | |
| OF | Eli Putnam | UCF | Sr. | Palo Cedro, Calif. | .332, 7 HR, 36 RBI, 15 2B, 2 3B, 16 SB | |
| OF | Corey Julks 1 | Houston | Jr. | Friendswood, Texas | .309, 5 HR, 35 RBI, 7 2B, 6 3B, 13 SB | |
| OF | Chris Carrier | Memphis | Sr. | Memphis, Tenn. | .318, 14 HR, 44 RBI, 14 2B, 10 SB | |
| DH | Luke Borders 3 | USF | Sr. | Winter Haven, Fla. | .340, 7 HR, 50 RBI, 11 2B, 3 3B, 4 SB | |
| UTY | Jake Scheiner * | Houston | Jr. | Santa Rosa, Calif. | .337, 15 HR, 52 RBI, 16 2B, 2 3B, 8 SB | |
| Second Team | ||||||
| Pos | Name | School | Cl | Hometown | 2017 Statistics | |
| P | William Montgomerie | UConn | Jr. | Lakeville, Conn. | 6-3, 3.55 ERA, 82.2 IP, 109 K, .248 OBA | |
| P | Mitch Ullom | Houston | So. | Sweeny, Texas | 6-3, 3.60 ERA, 85.0 IP, 45 K, .260 OBA | |
| P | Phoenix Sanders | USF | Sr. | Gainesville, Fla. | 5-2, 2.83 ERA, 86.0 IP, 99 K, .244 OBA | |
| P | Peter Strzelecki | USF | Jr. | Lake Worth, Fla. | 3-3, 2.48 ERA, 61.2 IP, 57 K, .216 OBA | |
| RP | John Russell | UConn | Jr. | Glastonbury, Conn. | 2-2, 3.12 ERA, 14 SV, 34.2 IP, 61 K, .198 OBA | |
| C | Connor Wong 1 | Houston | Jr. | Pearland, Texas | .310, 11 HR, 33 RBI, 11 2B, 3 3B, 22 SB | |
| 1B | Rylan Thomas | UCF | Fr. | Winter Garden, Fla. | .300, 13 HR, 51 RBI, 11 2B | |
| 2B | Matthew Mika | UCF | So. | Lake Worth, Fla. | .283, 0 HR, 25 RBI, 10 2B, 1 3B, 25 SB | |
| SS | Anthony Prato | UConn | Fr. | Staten Island, N.Y. | .281, 1 HR, 26 RBI, 8 2B, 14 SB | |
| 3B | Willy Yahn 2 1 | UConn | Jr. | Sharon, Conn. | .316, 1 HR, 21 RBI, 10 2B, 5 SB | |
| OF | R.J. Thompson | Cincinnati | Sr. | Mason, Ohio | .349, 4 HR, 27 RBI, 17 2B, 1 3B | |
| OF | Duke Stunkel Jr. | USF | Jr. | Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. | .343, 1 HR, 19 RBI, 14 2B, 3 SB | |
| OF | Grant Brown | Tulane | Jr. | Gulfport, Miss. | .332, 7 HR, 30 RBI, 8 2B, 1 3B | |
| DH | Joe Davis 1 | Houston | So. | Austin, Texas | .300, 7 HR, 44 RBI, 7 2B, 2 3B | |
| UTY | Ryan Noda | Cincinnati | Jr. | Volo, Ill. | .243, 9 HR, 30 RBI, 12 2B, 2 3B, 9 SB | |
- unanimous selection
1 2 indicates previous selections to the all-conference first, second or third team
