NEW YORK - The All-BIG EAST first and second teams will be well represented in Omaha, Neb., this week for the BIG EAST Championship Presented by New York Life at TD Ameritrade Park after St. John's, Creighton, Seton Hall and Georgetown combined for 23 of the 29 selections which were announced Tuesday.
The top-seed and 2015 BIG EAST Regular Season Champion Red Storm had a league-best eight student-athletes voted to the All-BIG EAST First Team. Creighton, Georgetown and Villanova had two players each earn first team accolades.
Along with the all-conference teams, the BIG EAST's four major awards were also announced. Three of the winners will be present in Omaha. Georgetown junior catcher/designated hitter Nick Collins was voted BIG EAST Player of the Year, while St. John's junior righty Ryan McCormick was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year by a unanimous vote. BIG EAST Freshman of the Year honors went to Xavier catcher Nate Soria; while St. John's skipper Ed Blankmeyer was voted BIG EAST Coach of the Year, his fifth time in 11 seasons, sixth overall.
Voting for the All-BIG EAST team and major awards was conducted by the league's seven head coaches who could not cast a ballot for their own teams.
Collins became the first BIG EAST Player of the Year in Georgetown baseball history and the second league major award winner for the Hoyas. Brian O'Hare was named Pitcher of the Year in 1996. As a unique selection to the All-BIG EAST First Team, winning the vote at both catcher and designated hitter, Collins is also the first Georgetown player to earn multiple All-BIG EAST First Team selections in his career. In 2015, Collins was second in the league in batting with a .369 average, but led the conference in slugging (.547), hits (75), home runs (7) and total bases (111).
McCormick's unanimous vote as BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year made him the fifth player in St. John's history to earn the award, but the first since George Brown in 2008. McCormick finished the regular season with a league-high nine overall wins (9-1), while ranking fifth in ERA (3.07), fourth in strikeouts (60), fourth in innings pitched (76.1) and seventh in opponent average (.239). In BIG EAST action, McCormick finished with a perfect 6-0 record, posted a league-low 1.52 ERA, allowed a league-low .168 opponent average and totaled a league-leading 33 strikeouts in the second-most innings (41.1). McCormick was also one of four unanimous selections to the All-BIG EAST First Team.
Soria, Freshman of the Year and an All-BIG EAST Second Team honoree as catcher, is the first major regular season award winner for Xavier. The rookie led the Musketeers in batting with a .335 average (52-for-155) and appeared in 43 games for Xavier with 42 starts. Soria led Xavier in doubles (11) and was second in RBI (27) and boasted a team-best .420 on-base percentage. In the league, Soria's average ranked fourth, while he was sixth in the conference in slugging (.471). He also tied for eighth in the league for stolen bases (12).
Blankmeyer earns Coach of the Year honors for the first time since 2012 and for the fifth time in the past 11 seasons (2015, 2012, 2008, 2007 and 2005). The six-time Coach of the Year, who first earned the honor in his first season at the helm in 1996, led the Red Storm to its conference-record eighth BIG EAST regular season title after finishing with a 14-3 league record.
Along with Collins and McCormick, making up the 2015 All-BIG EAST First Team was freshman pitcher Rollie Lacy from Creighton, junior pitcher Matt Smith from Georgetown, junior pitcher Cody Stashak from St. John's, junior reliever Thomas Hackimer from St. John's, junior first baseman Reagan Fowler from Creighton, sophomore second baseman Todd Czinege from Villanova, senior shortstop Jarred Mederos from St. John's and sophomore thirdbaseman Robbie Knightes from St. John's. The First Team outfield had a tie in voting and ended up with four players, three from St. John's with sophomore Michael Donadio, junior Alex Caruso and senior Zach Lauricella and junior Adam Goss from Villanova.
Lacy, McCormick, Hackimer and Caruso were unanimous votes to the BIG EAST First Team.
St. John's, Creighton, Seton Hall and Georgetown will converge on Omaha's TD Ameritrade Park, the home of the College World Series, for the 2015 BIG EAST Baseball Championship Presented by New York Life on May 21-24. The first five games of the BIG EAST Championship will be broadcast on the BIG EAST Digital Network, the conference's branded channel on FOX Sports GO. Championship Sunday will air on FOX Sports 2. The winner will earn the BIG EAST's automatic berth to the NCAA Championship. Check the BIGEAST.com Championship Central for details and updates.
2015 Baseball All-BIG EAST Team and Awards
Player of the Year - Nick Collins, Georgetown, Jr., C/DH
Pitcher of the Year - Ryan McCormick, St. John's, Jr. %
Freshman of the Year - Nate Soria, Xavier, Fr., C
Coach of the Year - Ed Blankmeyer, St. John's
2015 All-BIG EAST First Team #
Rollie Lacy, Creighton, Fr., SP ^
Matt Smith, Georgetown, Jr., SP
Ryan McCormick, St. John's, Jr., SP ^
Cody Stashak, St. John's, Jr., SP
Thomas Hackimer, St. John's, Jr., RP ^
Reagan Fowler, Creighton, Jr., 1B
Todd Czinege, Villanova, So., 2B
Jarred Mederos, St. John's, Sr., SS
Robbie Knightes, St. John's, So., 3B
Nick Collins, Georgetown, Jr., C/DH
Michael Donadio, St. John's, So., OF
Alex Caruso, St. John's, Jr., OF ^
Zach Lauricella, St. John's, Sr., OF
Adam Goss, Villanova, Jr., OF
2015 All-BIG EAST Second Team ##
Jeff Schank, Butler, So, SP
Peter Nyznyk, Butler, Sr., SP
Anthony Elia, Seton Hall, Sr., SP
Trent Astle, Xavier, So., SP
David Ellingson, Georgetown, So., RP
Matt Harris, St. John's, Sr., 1B
Ryan Fitzgerald, Creighton, Jr., 2B
Robert Wayman, St. John's, Sr., 2B
Ryan Busch, Georgetown, Sr., SS
Kyle Grimm, Seton Hall, Sr., 3B
Nate Soria, Xavier, Fr., C
Tyler Houston, Butler, Fr., OF
Zack Weigel, Seton Hall, Jr., OF
Joe Forney, Xavier, Sr., OF
Troy Dixon, St. John's, So., DH
% - denotes unanimous Pitcher of the Year selection
^ - denotes unanimous first team selection
# - four outfielders were named to the First Team due to tie in voting
## - 15 members were named to the Second Team due to a tie in voting