BA Newsletter: Get Analysis, Rankings Delivered To Your Inbox!

ACC, SEC Powers Headline 2016 All-America Teams



[caption id="attachment_170088" align="alignnone" width="640"]
Zack Collins (Photo by Alyson Boyer Rode) Zack Collins was also a Preseason All-America second-team choice (Photo by Alyson Boyer Rode)[/caption] Texas A&M entered the NCAA tournament as the top-ranked team in the country, and the Aggies also lead all teams with four players on our three All-America teams. First-teamers Ryne Birk and Boomer White, the Southeastern Conference player of the year, lead the group. The SEC put a total of 11 players on the teams, second only to the Atlantic Coast Conference. Ten ACC teams advanced to the NCAA tournament, the most of any conference, and that talent was also reflected with 13 All-Americans. Both of the last two ACC players of the year—2016 honoree Seth Beer and 2015’s winner Will Craig—are first-team All-Americans. In additon to Texas A&M, six other schools produced multiple All-Americans. Clemson, Louisville and Virginia, the defending national champions, all had three players honored. Florida, Mississippi State and Oklahoma State all landed two players on the teams. In all, 33 schools are represented on the All-America teams. Two players from the Preseason All-America first team also made the postseason first team: Kyle Lewis and Logan Shore. Three others were on the second team in the preseason: Zack Collins, Eric Lauer and Brendan McKay, the 2015 Freshman of the Year. In all, 10 players who made one of the Preseason All-America teams are again honored on the postseason teams.
C ZACK COLLINS JR. MIAMI miami The 2014 Freshman of the Year, Collins put together his best offensive and defensive season this spring for the Hurricanes, batting .364/.540/.630 with 12 home runs to lead Miami to the third overall seed in the NCAA tournament. Collins’ behind-the-plate defense also took a noticeable jump—elevating his draft stock.
1B ERIC GUTIERREZ SR. TEXAS TECH texastech A two-time participant in the college home run derby in Omaha, Guiterrez has tremendous power and showcased it this season with 12 home runs and a .344/.468/.621 line. The senior—who has started and played in every game of his college career—was a large reason why the powerful Red Raiders ran away with the Big 12 Conference.
2B RYNE BIRK JR. TEXAS A&M texasaandm It isn’t easy to stand out in a lineup as deep and balanced as Texas A&M’s, but Birk was a consistent contributor for the Aggies this spring, batting in multiple spots in the order, including cleanup. He hit .318/.375/.494 with seven home runs for Texas A&M, providing some offensive juice from the second base position.
3B BOOMER WHITE JR. TEXAS A&M texasaandm The SEC player of the year’s numbers—on first blush—are impressive. He hit .395/.471/.524 with four home runs. It’s a gaudy stat line. But then look at the conference-only numbers: .471/.524/.653 with three home runs. SEC pitchers simply couldn’t get White out all season long. That’s not an easy feat in the SEC.
SS TAYLOR WALLS SO. FLORIDA STATE Florida-State After cooling off in the second half of last season, the sophomore blossomed this year, batting .357/.480/.518 with six home runs and 14 stolen bases in 15 attempts. FSU’s leadoff hitter, Walls epitomized the Seminoles’ patient, grind-it-out offensive approach, putting up a stunning .508 on-base percentage in ACC play.
OF SETH BEER FR. CLEMSON Clemson After graduating from high school a semester early and enrolling at Clemson in January, Beer took college baseball by storm, winning ACC player of the year honors. He went on a 26-game hitting streak, the fourth-longest in program history, and went into the NCAA Tournament hitting .372/.532/.686 with 16 home runs.
OF ANFERNEE GRIER JR. AUBURN auburn Grier was a bright spot in a long season for Auburn, as the team struggled through a tumultuous transition following Sunny Golloway’s firing in October. He hit .366/.457/.576 with 12 home runs and 19 stolen bases in 238 at-bas, in addition to playing exceptional defense for the Tigers in center field.
OF KYLE LEWIS JR. MERCER mercerbaseball The 2015 Southern Conference player of the year repeated that performance this spring, as he led Mercer to the regular season championship—and won BA’s College Player of the Year award. He hit .395/.535/.731 with 20 home runs and was leading the nation with 66 walks going into the NCAA Tournament.
DH WILL CRAIG JR. WAKE FOREST wake-forest Craig blew up last year with one of the loudest offensive performances in the country. He improved on that this year, batting .392/.537/.766 with 16 home runs and 65 RBIs, while serving as the team’s primary closer. Craig led the nation in slugging and was among the national leaders in most other categories.
UT BRENDAN MCKAY SO. LOUISVILLE louisville McKay won Freshman of the Year last year for a stellar year as Louisville’s Saturday starter and cleanup hitter. Still batting cleanup (.330/.416/.498, four home runs), McKay moved to the Friday role this spring and was one of the best starters in the ACC yet again, going 11-3, 2.25 and using his power curve to strike out 109 in 96 innings.
SP ERIC LAUER JR. KENT STATE

KentState Lauer didn’t give up a run in his final four starts of his junior season and gave up just 15 (eight earned) in his first 11 starts. That kind of dominance led him to go 10-2, 0.69 for the season, with 125 strikeouts in 104 innings. His ERA is not only the best in the nation this year, but also the best for any Division I starting pitcher since 1979.


SP A.J. PUCKETT JR. PEPPERDINE pepperdine In one of the most dominant runs in NCAA history, Puckett threw 45⅔ consecutive scoreless innings for the Waves, the third-longest streak in modern college baseball history. Even after the streak ended, scoring against Puckett remained rare, and he went 9-3, 1.27, posting the third-best ERA in West Coast Conference history.
SP CODY SEDLOCK JR. ILLINOIS Illinois Sedlock made it two years in a row that Illinois has had the Big Ten Conference pitcher of the year, as he followed in Tyler Jay’s footsteps to win the award. Sedlock was a workhorse for Illinois, throwing two complete games and twice pitching past the ninth inning on the way to a 2.49 ERA. He set a program record with 116 strikeouts in 101 innings.
SP LOGAN SHORE JR. FLORIDA Florida Shore has been the Gators’ Friday starter since his freshman year, and he more than looked the part as a junior, even with teammates with bigger stuff. The Preseason All-American lived up to his billing, and went 10-0, 2.41 for the team that was ranked No. 1 most of the season. He was named Southeastern Conference pitcher of the year.
RP TROY RALLINGS SR. WASHINGTON Washington The key to Washington’s pitching staff this season was Rallings, who locked down the back end of games and served as his own middle relief. Only one of the senior’s 16 saves was of three outs or less. He accrued enough innings to qualify for the ERA title, and his mark of 0.89 led the Pac-12 Conference and ranked second nationally.
Mets Yankees (Photo By Jim Mcisaac Getty Images)

City Divided As Mets, Yankees Both Make Postseason For First Time Since 2015

After a regular season in which the 101-win Mets and 99-win Yankees should appear of similar quality, they now enter the playoffs with entirely different vibes.

2016 ALL-AMERICA TEAMS
Pos. Name, SchoolYrAVGOBPSLGABRHHRRBIBBSOSB
C Zack Collins, MiamiJr..358.534.6311764963135369481
1B Eric Gutierrez, Texas TechSr..330.460.5902125170125338323
2B Ryne Birk, Texas A&MJr..318.384.494245507874427338
3B Boomer White, Texas A&MR-Jr..398.476.5332464998546331410
SS Taylor Walls, Florida StateSo..367.488.5322377087645564214
OF Seth Beer, ClemsonFr..369.535.7002035775187062271
OF Anfernee Grier, AuburnJr..366.457.57623856871241325519
OF Kyle Lewis, MercerJr..395.535.7312237088207266486
DH Will Craig, Wake ForestJr..379.520.7311825369166647350
UTL Brendan McKay, LouisvilleSo..336.420.509220427454024310
Player, School YearYrWLERAGCGSVIPHBBSOAVG 
SP Eric Lauer, Kent StateJr.1020.6915301044928125.141
SP A.J. Puckett, PepperdineJr.931.27141099652695.191
SP Cody Sedlock, IllinoisJr.532.4914201018031116.219
SP Logan Shore, FloridaJr.1102.44163092751580.223
RP Troy Rallings, WashingtonSr.410.892801661321260.155
UTL Brendan McKay, LouisvilleSo.1232.1216101028042119.214
Second Team
Pos. Name, SchoolYearAVGOPBSLGABRHHRRBIBBSOSB
C Chris Okey, ClemsonJr..339.465.6112396181157451544
1B Jameson Fisher, Southeastern LouisianaJr..424.558.69219449841166543115
2B Jake Noll, Florida Gulf CoastR-Jr..367.427.6202375887126120299
3B Nick Senzel, TennesseeJr..352.456.5952105774859402125
SS C.J. Chatham, Florida AtlanticJr..357.422.554249488985023362
OF Heath Quinn, SamfordJr..343.452.6822426283217744554
OF Corey Ray, LouisvilleJr..319.396.56226055831560353939
OF J.B. Woodman, MississippiJr..323.412.57823253751455334812
DH Matt Thaiss, VirginiaJr..375.473.5782325587105939160
UTL Luken Baker, Texas ChristianFr..382.493.555220548485443341
Pos. Player, SchoolYearWLERAGCGSVIPHBBSOAVG
SP Corbin Burnes, St. Mary’sJr.922.4816301027633120.212
SP Connor Jones, VirginiaJr.1112.341530104853872.225
SP Brigham Hill, Texas A&MJr.911.95230192802497.229
SP Dakota Hudson, Mississippi StateJr.942.6216301079934109.246
RP Mark Ecker, Texas A&MJr.420.4124084424452.162
UTL Luken Baker, Texas ChristianFr.311.7100048371641.213
Third Team
Pos. Name, SchoolYearAVGOPBSLGABRHHRRBIBBSOSB
C Nick Feight, UNC WilmingtonSo..350.410.7342375983219127351
1B Peter Alonso, FloridaJr..368.464.6321934671125529302
2B Nick Solak, LouisvilleJr..380.474.576158496052927199
3B Jake Burger, Missouri StateSo..349.420.6892355982217223353
SS Donnie Walton, Oklahoma StateSr..350.446.4622234478343322913
OF Ronnie Dawson, Ohio StateJr..331.419.61125755851351374321
OF Jake Mangum, Mississippi StateFr..418.470.520196408212714176
OF David Oppenheim, Southern CaliforniaSr..387.500.508191377442539246
DH Brett Cumberland, CaliforniaSo..344.480.6781804662165138405
UTL Adam Haseley, VirginiaSo..304.377.502247617563728293
Pos. Player, SchoolYearWLERAGCGSVIPHBBSOAVG
SP Keegan Akin, Western MichiganJr.741.8217201097230133.192
SP Justin Dunn, Boston CollegeJr.411.49171260461666.208
SP Joey Lucchesi, Southeast Missouri StateSr.1052.1917211119637149.234
SP Thomas Hatch, Oklahoma StateR-So.722.1616301129428102.234
RP Pat Krall, ClemsonJr.1021.67291581581765.203
UTL Adam Haseley, VirginiaSo.931.73231078542148.194

Are you a member?

In order to access this exclusive content you must have a Baseball America Account. 

Login or sign up  


Additionally, you can subscribe to Baseball America's newsletter and receive all of our rankings, analysis, prospect insight & more delivered to your inbox every day. Click here to get started. 

of Free Stories Remaining