2006 College All-America Team

June 13, 2006

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Text by Aaron Fitt
C, Matt Wieters, So., Georgia Tech
Two-way star (1-2, 2.67, team-best seven saves) led explosive Yellow Jacket offense in home runs and RBIs and caught fire in the postseason, reaching base in 14 of 15 plate appearances in the Atlanta regional.

AVG	OBP	SLG	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
.355	.481	.602	251	69	89	14	69	56	38	3

1B, Mark Hamilton, Jr., Tulane
A year after starting just 43 of Tulane’s 68 games because of a thumb injury, Hamilton stayed healthy all season and proved to be one of the nation’s top sluggers despite playing in the Triple-A dimensions of Zephyr Field.

AVG	OBP	SLG	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
.336	.461	.643	235	61	79	20	69	51	42	2

2B, Jim Negrych, Jr., Pittsburgh
The only repeat first-team All-American from 2005, Negrych (a sixth-round pick of his hometown Pirates) managed to improve his stellar on-base-plus-slugging percentage by .004 from a year ago.

AVG	OBP	SLG	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
.396	.515	.654	182	41	72	11	60	40	42	6

3B, Pedro Alvarez, Fr., Vanderbilt
The Freshman of the Year led all third basemen in home runs and accounted for more than a third of his team’s 57 long balls.

AVG	OBP	SLG	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
.329	.456	.675	240	70	79	22	64	57	64	7

SS, Brian Friday, So., Rice
Friday stepped into Rice’s shortstop hole when Josh Rodriguez was injured in February, and he never relinquished the job thanks to his dramatically improved bat and steady defense.

AVG	OBP	SLG	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
.365	.449	.576	255	65	93	9	56	29	46	17

OF, Kellen Kulbacki, So., James Madison
Led nation in home runs (17 of his 24 came at home) and slugging percentage and was second in batting to power the nation’s sixth-highest scoring offense.

AVG	OBP	SLG	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
.464	.568	.943	194	68	90	24	75	30	32	13

OF, Cole Gillespie, Jr., Oregon State
Had only one career homer entering 2006, but emerged to lead a Beavers offense that lost its top two performers from a year ago (Jacoby Ellsbury and Andy Jenkins) to become the Pacific-10 Conference player of the year.

AVG	OBP	SLG	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
.387	.508	.706	204	74	79	13	53	43	27	15

OF, Tyler Colvin, Jr. , Clemson
Surprise first-round draft pick put together fine all-around season at the plate and in the field for the NCAA tournament’s top national seed, capping it with a game-winning grand slam in the super-regional.

AVG	OBP	SLG	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
.362	.425	.627	268	62	97	13	69	27	40	23

DH, Ryan Strieby, Jr., Kentucky
Led Southeastern Conference in RBIs, doubles, slugging and on-base percentage to help Kentucky win SEC Eastern Division and reach regionals for the first time since 1993.

AVG	OBP	SLG	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
.343	.473	.704	233	60	80	20	77	46	39	2

UT, Brad Lincoln, Jr. , Houston
The No. 4 overall pick in the draft ranked in the nation’s top 10 in wins and ERA while leading Houston in RBIs as its cleanup hitter.

AVG	OBP	SLG	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
.295	.368	.536	224	35	66	14	53	24	41	5

W	L	ERA	G	CG	SV	IP	H	BB	SO	AVG
12	2	1.69	17	3	0	128	91	32	152	.198

SP, Andrew Miller, Jr., North Carolina
The only preseason first-team All-American to make the postseason first-team, Miller struck out 11 in a super-regional win against Alabama to lead the Tar Heels to Omaha for the first time since 1989.

W	L	ERA	G	CG	SV	IP	H	BB	SO	AVG
13	2	2.11	16	0	0	111	87	36	119	.214

SP, Tim Lincecum, Jr., Washington
The Pac-10 pitcher of the year led the nation in strikeouts with 44 more than second-place finisher David Price and became the conference’s career strikeout leader with 491.

W	L	ERA	G	CG	SV	IP	H	BB	SO	AVG
12	4	1.94	22	3	3	125	75	63	199	.173

SP, Eddie Degerman, Sr., Rice
Degerman used his excellent deception and velocity to rank among the nation's top 10 in wins, ERA and strikeouts while serving as the ace for the country’s top-ranked team.

W	L	ERA	G	CG	SV	IP	H	BB	SO	AVG
13	1	1.81	18	0	0	120	74	47	158	.174

SP, Wes Roemer, So., Cal State Fullerton
Roemer anchored a Fullerton staff that led the nation in ERA. While he hit 23 batters, he showed pinpoint command, going 65 2/3 innings before issuing his first walk of the season.

W	L	ERA	G	CG	SV	IP	H	BB	SO	AVG
13	1	1.97	18	3	0	142	107	6	134	.208

RP, Cole St. Clair, So., Rice
The last of the Owls' three first-team members, St. Clair's blinding heat from the left side was a key reason Rice went 45-2 in games it led after eight innings. He also pitched 5 1/3 innings to win the super-regional clincher.

W	L	ERA	G	CG	SV	IP	H	BB	SO	AVG
6	2	1.82	35	0	11	69	34	24	94	.144

SECOND TEAM

Pos.	Player	School	Yr.	AVG	OBP	SLG	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
C	Kody Valverde	Alabama	Sr.	.347	.463	.607	219	58	76	12	59	42	36	1
1B	Craig Cooper	Notre Dame	Sr.	.425	.522	.654	228	79	97	9	41	38	14	9
2B	Justin Turner	Cal State Fullerton	Sr.	.355	.408	.498	265	61	94	4	42	16	28	20
SS	Emmanuel Burris	Kent State	Jr.	.360	.446	.477	239	70	86	4	28	23	22	42
3B	Evan Longoria	Long Beach State	Jr.	.353	.468	.602	201	42	71	11	43	40	29	3
OF	Jacob Dempsey	Winthrop	Sr.	.403	.492	.738	248	71	100	17	78	49	36	8
OF	Jon Jay	Miami	Jr.	.369	.500	.528	214	75	79	6	42	38	27	31
OF	Drew Stubbs	Texas	Jr.	.342	.439	.580	243	65	83	12	58	41	60	26
DH	Josh Horton	North Carolina	So.	.404	.463	.563	245	61	99	7	55	30	24	12
UT	Sean Doolittle	Virginia	So.	.324	.454	.458	216	49	70	4	57	54	28	2

Pos.	Player	School	Year	W	L	ERA	G	CG	SV	IP	H	BB	SO	AVG
SP	Jake Arrieta	Texas Christian	So.	14	4	2.35	19	1	1	111	96	37	111	.231
SP	Jonah Nickerson	Oregon State	Jr.	11	4	2.50	17	3	0	115	102	34	112	.239
SP	Nick Schmidt	Arkansas	So.	9	3	3.01	17	1	0	117	90	50	145	.211
SP	Steven Wright	Hawaii	Jr.	11	2	2.30	16	2	1	110	80	19	123	.204
RP	Don Czyz	Kansas	Sr.	6	0	1.56	37	0	19	63	49	15	60	.206
UT	Sean Doolittle	Virginia	So.	11	2	2.38	18	0	1	91	64	21	108	.193

THIRD TEAM

Pos.	Player	School	Yr.	AVG	OBP	SLG	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
C	Jordan Newton	Western Ky.	Jr.	.324	.468	.699	176	50	57	14	58	45	43	10
1B	Andy D'Alessio	Clemson	Jr.	.313	.376	.646	240	54	75	22	80	27	58	6
2B	Damon Sublett	Wichita State	So.	.394	.500	.642	165	45	65	10	45	31	34	12
SS	Zack Cozart	Mississippi	So.	.338	.370	.515	272	57	92	10	64	17	28	15
3B	Josh Rodriguez	Rice	Jr.	.346	.444	.585	246	60	85	11	64	41	40	10
OF	Corey Brown	Oklahoma State	So.	.347	.462	.644	216	68	75	13	40	42	57	14
OF	John Raynor	UNC Wilmington	Sr.	.370	.433	.588	262	63	97	12	69	22	41	42
OF	Joey Side	Georgia	Jr.	.359	.409	.611	306	57	110	13	53	23	42	7
DH	Chad Huffman	Texas Christian	Jr.	.388	.498	.742	209	58	81	18	71	38	31	6
UT	Mike Felix	Troy	Jr.	.381	.444	.565	168	36	64	5	31	18	34	3

Pos.	Pitcher	School	Yr.	W	L	ERA	G	CG	SV	IP	H	BB	SO	AVG
SP	Lauren Gagnier	Cal State Fullerton	Jr.	14	4	2.42	18	0	0	123	92	23	101	.204
SP	Danny Ray Herrera	New Mexico	Jr.	10	0	2.24	17	3	0	128	112	29	104	.238
SP	Wade LeBlanc	Alabama	Jr.	11	1	2.92	18	3	0	129	100	43	128	.211
SP	P.J. Walters	South Alabama	Jr.	11	3	3.20	19	5	0	152	159	33	166	.267
SP	Josh Fields	Georgia	So.	3	2	1.88	33	0	15	48	34	11	53	.202
UT	Mike Felix	Troy	Jr.	9	4	3.45	28	1	4	102	85	49	134	.223