Arkansas State's T.J. Brewer, Ryan Hudgins, and Josh Yates have been selected to the 2007 All-Sun Belt Baseball Team, the league announced Tuesday afternoon.
Florida Atlantic outfielder Robbie Widlansky was selected as the league's Player of the Year, Troy pitcher Josh Dew was selected Pitcher of the Year, and Louisiana-Lafayette head coach Tony Robichaux was selected as the Sun Belt Coach of the Year after leading the Ragin' Cajuns to the conference title with a 23-7 league record.
Brewer was selected to the first-team as a starting pitcher, Hudgins was named second-team shortstop, and Yates was selected to the second team as a designated hitter.
“To be able to have multiple players on the all-conference team is a tribute to how hard our guys worked,” said ASU head coach Keith Kessinger. “The contributions that those three guys made, and the fact that the coaches in the league recognized them for their achievements is outstanding.”
Despite finishing the season with a 5-4 record, Brewer was one of the most dominating pitchers in the Sun Belt Conference in 2007. Twice selected as SBC Pitcher of the Week, Brewer finished the season with an ERA of 2.49 ? the lowest of any starting pitcher in the league. He finished third in the league with 98 strikeouts in 90.1 innings pitched, and gave up just 25 earned runs in 15 appearances. He threw four complete games, including two shutouts, and surrendered just 16 multiple-base hits on the season.
“T.J. was very, very deserving,” said Kessinger. “We were concerned that his record would jeopardize his chances of making first team, but I think the coaches realized that he was as good as anybody in the league. T.J. had as good a season as I think a starting pitcher could have, and had we scored a little bit more for him, then obviously his record would have been better. His numbers were very deserving, and I commend the coaches for selecting him.”
Hudgins started all 55 of the Indians' games this season, moving from third base to shortstop midway through the season. His .330 batting average was third-best on the team, and he led the Indians with 45 RBI and 126 total bases on the year. He was also the team leader in doubles with 18, and finished tied for the team lead with 11 home runs. He made a solid impact for the Tribe in the field as well - after Hudgins made the move to shortstop 26 games into the season, the Indians reduced their errors per game from 2.5 to 1.2. He became just the third Indian to hit for the cycle when he accomplished the feat in an April 17, 6-1 victory over Tennessee-Martin
“Not only did Ryan become an all-conference shortstop, but he made us a much better defensive team,” said Kessinger. “To play a position that you are not familiar with, and to play it at a level where you are selected all-conference is a tribute to him and his willingness to help this team in any way. And it is exciting to have an all-conference shortstop returning for next season.”
Named to three All-America teams and two All-Sun Belt teams over the past two seasons, Yates missed six games early in the season when his wife Jennifer delivered the couple's second child, then missed 10 games midway through the year after undergoing an emergency appendectomy. Despite missing the games, he finished tied for first on the ASU team with 11 home runs, and tied for second with 14 doubles. He opened the season with a 21-game hit streak and he logged 15 multiple-hit games, finishing the year with a .333 batting average.
“We think Josh is a first-team player, but he missed enough games this year that his numbers made it difficult to achieve that,” said Kessinger. “The respect that the coaches have for Josh despite missing almost a third of the season tells you what kind of player he is.”
The Indians finished the season at 23-32 overall and 13-17 in Sun Belt play, missing the conference tournament by one-half game.
First Team All-Sun Belt
|
SP |
T.J. Brewer (Arkansas State, Sr.) |
|
SP |
Buddy Glass (Louisiana-Lafayette, Jr.) |
|
RP |
Josh Dew (Troy, Sr.) |
|
C |
Jonathan Lucroy (Louisiana-Lafayette, Jr.) |
|
1B |
Jeff Cunningham (South Alabama, Jr.) |
|
2B |
Johnny Giavotella (New Orleans, So.) |
|
SS |
Matt Ray (Middle Tennessee, Sr.) |
|
3B |
William Block (Florida Atlantic, So.) |
|
OF |
Robbie Widlansky (Florida Atlantic, Jr.) |
|
OF |
James McOwen (Florida International, Jr.) |
|
OF |
Clint Robinson (Troy, Sr.) |
|
DH |
Scott Hawkins (Louisiana-Lafayette, So.) |
Second Team All-Sun Belt
|
SP |
Chris Salberg (Florida Atlantic, Sr.) |
|
SP |
Hunter Moody (Louisiana-Lafayette, Jr.) |
|
RP |
Danny Farquhar (Louisiana-Lafayette, So.) |
|
C |
Joel Collins (South Alabama, Jr.) |
|
1B |
Rawley Bishop (Middle Tennessee, So.) |
|
2B |
Wayne Kendrick (Middle Tennessee, Sr.) |
|
SS |
Ryan Hudgins (Arkansas State, Jr.) |
|
3B |
David Doss (South Alabama, So.) |
|
OF |
Mike McKenna (Florida Atlantic, Jr.) |
|
OF |
Daniel Cook (Florida Atlantic, Jr.) |
|
OF |
Jefferies Tatford (Louisiana-Lafayette, Sr.) |
|
DH |
Josh Yates (Arkansas State, Sr.) |
Player of the Year: Robbie Widlansky (Florida Atlantic, Jr., OF)
Pitcher of the Year: Josh Dew (Troy, Sr., RP)
Newcomer of the Year: Nolan Gisclair (Louisiana-Lafayette, Jr., OF)
Freshman of the Year: Bart Carter (Western Kentucky, Fr., SP)
Coach of the Year: Tony Robichaux (Louisiana-Lafayette)
