May 24, 2011

BIG EAST Release

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Head coach Jim Penders was named the 2011 BIG EAST Coach of the Year as announced by the conference on Tuesday night as part of the 2011 BIG EAST Baseball Championship Opening Ceremonies. Matt Barnes was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year, while George Springer was tagged with BIG EAST Player of the Year honors. In addition to the major awards, 11 Huskies were named to the All-BIG EAST Teams.

For the second straight year, Penders was named the league's Coach of the Year as he led the Huskies to 39 overall wins and a league-record 22 victories during regular season play. The Huskies also won the 2011 Regular Season title. Currently in his eighth year at the helm of the Huskies, he is now a three-time recipient of the award, winning the honor in 2006 and in 2010, respectively.

Matt Barnes, who was tagged as the 2011 Preseason Pitcher of the Year, went on to register an 11-3 record during regular-season play, while earning an ERA of 1.11, a team-best. In 14 starts, Barnes threw three complete games, struck out 97 batters and pitched 105 innings. The junior earned eight wins in BIG EAST Conference play, tying the all-time single-season mark in league history. He is just one of three all-time UConn pitchers to register 10 or more wins in a single season and ranks tied for second with current teammate Greg Nappo with 24 career wins.

George Springer, who also earned a major award in the preseason as he was named BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year, led the Huskies during the regular season batting .379 in 55 games en route to being the unanimous selection for Player of the Year. The junior led the Huskies with 77 hits, 12 home runs, 51 runs scored and 72 RBI. He has stolen a team-high 29 bags and is slugging .685. This is the second major conference honor for the New Britain, Conn. native as he was named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year in 2009.

Barnes is just the second UConn pitcher to earn the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year honor as Charles Nagy was given the award in both the 1987 and 1988 seasons.

Springer becomes the fifth Husky to be tagged with Player of the Year honors and the first since Mike Scott was named Co-Player of the Year in 2001. Prior to 2001, Jason Grabowski earned the honor in 1996, while Sal Tinnerello earned the award in 1992. Dave Ford was the first-ever BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year in 1985 when the Huskies finished in first place in the league's North Division during that season.

Barnes and Springer were unanimous picks for the All-BIG EAST First Team, while Greg Nappo, Doug Elliot, Mike Nemeth, LJ Mazzilli, Ryan Fuller and Nick Ahmed made the All-BIG EAST Second Team.

Juniors Kevin Vance, John Andreoli and Tim Martin earned spots on the All-BIG EAST Third Team, respectively.

The Huskies will begin postseason play on Wednesday, May 25 as they are scheduled to take on Notre Dame at 8:00 p.m. at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla.

2011 BIG EAST CONFERENCE BASEBALL AWARDS
BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE YEAR
George Springer, OF, Connecticut (Jr., New Britain, Conn.) *

BIG EAST PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Matt Barnes, RHP, Connecticut (Jr., Bethel, Conn.)

BIG EAST ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Trey Mancini, 1B, Notre Dame (Fr., Winter Haven, Fla.)

BIG EAST COACH OF THE YEAR
Jim Penders, Connecticut

ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM
Pos.	Player	School	Cl	Hometown
P	Matt Barnes *	Connecticut	Jr.	Bethel, Conn.
P	Justin Amlung	Louisville	So.	Louisville, Ky.
P	Kyle Hansen	St. John's	So.	Glen Gove, N.Y.
P	Joe DiRocco	Seton Hall	Sr.	East Hanover, N.J.
C	Kevan Smith *	Pittsburgh	Sr.	Cranberry Township, Pa.
1B	David Chester	Pittsburgh	Sr.	Collinsville, Okla.
2B	Ryan Wright	Louisville	Jr.	Fort Wayne, Ind.
3B	Jonathan Koscso	USF	Sr.	Tampa, Fla.
SS	Joe Panik	St. John's	Jr.	Hopewell Junction, N.Y.
OF	Justin Riddell	Cincinnati	Sr.	Lexington, Ky.
OF	George Springer *	Connecticut	Jr.	New Britain, Conn.
OF	Rand Ravnaas	Georgetown	Jr.	Fort Worth, Texas
OF	Jeremy Baltz	St. John's	So.	Vestal, N.Y.
DH	Jeremy Gum	West Virginia	Sr.	Bridgeport, W.Va.
	* unanimous selection
ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM
Pos.	Player	School	Cl	Hometown
P	Greg Nappo	Connecticut	Sr.	Madison, Conn.
P	Matt Iannazzo	Pittsburgh	Jr.	Norwalk, Conn.
P	Randy Fontanez	USF	Sr.	Oviedo, Fla.
P	Kevin Quackenbush	USF	Sr.	Tampa, Fla.
C	Doug Elliot	Connecticut	Sr.	Rocky Hill, Conn.
1B	Mike Nemeth	Connecticut	Sr.	Washington, N.J.
2B	LJ Mazzilli	Connecticut	So.	Greenwich, Conn.
3B	Ryan Fuller	Connecticut	Jr.	Old Lyme, Conn.
SS	Nick Ahmed	Connecticut	Jr.	East Longmeadow, Mass.
OF	Stewart Ijames	Louisville	Jr.	Louisville, Ky.
OF	John Schultz	Pittsburgh	Sr.	West Lawn, Pa.
OF	Michael Lang	Rutgers	Sr.	Dumont, N.J.
DH	Justin Glass	Cincinnati	Fr.	Fort Wayne, Ind.
ALL-BIG EAST THIRD TEAM
Pos.	Player	School	Cl	Hometown
P	Kevin Vance	Connecticut	Jr.	Solana Beach, Calif.
P	Tony Zych	Louisville	Jr.	Monee, Ill.
P	Brian Dupra	Notre Dame	Sr.	Rochester, N.Y.
C	Erick Fernandez	Georgetown	Sr.	Hialeah, Fla.
1B	Trey Mancini	Notre Dame	Fr.	Winter Haven, Fla.
1B	Paul Karmas	St. John's	Sr.	Douglaston, N.Y.
3B	Sean Lamont	Georgetown	Sr.	Houston, Texas
SS	Grant Buckner	West Virginia	Sr.	Elkview W.Va.
OF	Braden Kline	Cincinnati	Fr.	Warsaw, Ind.
OF	John Andreoli	Connecticut	Jr.	Shrewsbury, Mass.
OF	Casey Roche	Pittsburgh	Fr.	Downingtown, Pa.
DH	Tim Martin	Connecticut	Jr.	Stratford, Conn.
DH	Anthony Defabio	Pittsburgh	Jr.	Pittsburgh, Pa.