CHAMP CENTRAL
CLEARWATER, Fla. – UConn outfielder Joe DeRoche-Duffin, who finished the regular season as the American Athletic Conference’s leader in home runs and runs batted in, was chosen as the conference’s Player of the Year by the league’s eight head coaches.
UConn pitcher Anthony Kay, who went 5-0 in conference games, was named the American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year. Houston first baseman Joe Davis, who ranked in the league’s top three in hits, home runs and RBIs, was named The American’s Rookie Position Player of the Year. UConn’s Tim Cate, who led the league in strikeouts per game, was chosen as the Rookie Pitcher of the Year. UConn coach Jim Penders, who finished the regular season with a nine-game winning streak, was tabbed by his peers as the American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.
DeRoche-Duffin emerged as the most prolific power hitter in The American in his senior year as he finished the regular season with 17 home runs and 52 RBIs to lead the conference. He had 53 hits, including 29 that went for extra bases, and finished second in the conference with a .574 slugging percentage. DeRoche-Duffin becomes the first UConn player to be named as a conference player of the year since 2011, when George Springer was the Big East’s top honor. He enters the postseason one home run shy of The American’s single-season record of 18.
Kay became the second straight UConn player to be named as The American’s Pitcher of the Year after Carson Cross took last year’s honor. Kay enters the postseason with a 7-2 record, a 2.47 earned-run average and 97 strikeouts in 98.1 innings. He was particularly effective in conference games as he went 5-0 with a 1.85 ERA in eight starts against league opponents.
Davis was chosen as The American’s Rookie Position Player of the Year after he anchored the Cougars’ lineup as a true freshman. He finished the regular season ranked third in The American in batting (.336) and home runs (11) and second in RBIs (51) and doubles (17) and was the conference leader in total bases (125).
Cate was tabbed as The American Rookie Pitcher of the Year as he went 3-1 with a 2.87 earned-run average in 11 starts for the Huskies. He struck out 86 batters in 69.0 innings, an average of 11.22 per nine innings, which ranks as the best mark in the conference.
Penders was named American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year for the first time, and earned his fourth conference coach of the year accolade, after he led the Huskies to 33 wins in the regular-season and a third-place finish in the conference standings as UConn went 14-9 in The American. The Huskies led the league in runs scored in the regular season (339) and enter the postseason as the winners of their last nine games and with a 20-7 record in their last 27.
UConn had a league-leading eight players chosen to the all-conference first or second team, while Tulane, the 2016 regular-season conference champion, had seven players recognized. Kay was the only repeat selection from the 2015 all-conference first team and joins former USF pitcher Jimmy Herget and former Cincinnati outfielder Ian Happ as The American’s only two-time first-team choices.
2016 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE BASEBALL AWARDS
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Joe DeRoche-Duffin, OF, UConn (Sr., Santa Ana, Calif.)
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Anthony Kay, LHP, UConn (Jr., Stony Brook, N.Y.)
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE ROOKIE POSITION PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Joe Davis, 1B, Houston (Fr., Austin, Texas)
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE ROOKIE PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Tim Cate, LHP, UConn (Fr., Manchester, Conn.)
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE COACH OF THE YEAR
Jim Penders, UConn
All-Conference Team
| First Team |
|
|
|
|
| Pos |
Name |
School |
Cl |
Hometown |
2016 Statistics |
| P |
Andrew Zellner |
Cincinnati |
Jr. |
Farmersville, Ohio |
7-4, 2.21 ERA, 4 CG 101.2 IP, 63 K, .222 OBA |
| P |
Anthony Kay 1 |
UConn |
Jr. |
Stony Brook, N.Y. |
7-2, 2.47 ERA,1 CG, 98.1 IP, 97 K, .211 OBA |
| P |
Evan Kruczynski |
East Carolina |
Jr. |
Franklin, Wis. |
6-1, 1.95 ERA, 97.0 IP, 77 K, .244 OBA |
| P |
Emerson Gibbs |
Tulane |
Sr. |
River Ridge, La. |
6-2, 2.24 ERA, 2 CG, 96.1 IP, 78 K, .218 OBA |
| RP |
Nick Hernandez |
Houston |
Jr. |
Missouri City, Texas |
3-0, 1.21 ERA, 8 SV, 44.2 IP, 53 K, .157 OBA |
| C |
Jake Rogers |
Tulane |
Jr. |
Canyon, Texas |
.255, 6 HR, 24 RBI, 8 2B, 41 R, 11 SB |
| 1B |
Joe Davis |
Houston |
Fr. |
Austin, Texas |
.336, 11 HR, 51 RBI, 17 2B, 29 R, .561 SLG |
| 2B |
Kevin Merrell |
USF |
So. |
Odessa, Fla. |
.309, 1 HR, 21 RBI, 4 2B, 2 3B, 16 SB |
| SS |
Stephen Alemais 2 |
Tulane |
Jr. |
Bronx, N.Y. |
.320 1 HR, 24 RBI, 12 2B, 1 3B, 34 R, 16 SB |
| 3B |
Willy Yahn 2 |
UConn |
So. |
Sharon, Conn. |
.326, 3 HR, 40 RBI, 19 2B, 3 3B, 42 R, 7 SB |
| OF |
Joe DeRoche-Duffin |
UConn |
Sr. |
Santa Ana, Calif. |
.262, 17 HR, 52 RBI, 12 2B, 42 R, .574 SLG |
| OF |
Dwanya Williams-Sutton |
East Carolina |
Fr. |
Wilson, N.C. |
.372, 5 HR, 27 RBI, 11 2B, 4 3B, .601 SLG |
| OF |
Corey Julks |
Houston |
So. |
Friendswood, Texas |
.341, 3 HR, 26 RBI, 10 2B, 1 3B, 33 R, 9 SB |
| DH |
Jeremy Montalbano |
Tulane |
Jr. |
Katy, Texas |
.289, 11 HR, 42 RBI, 13 2B, 2 3B, .537 SLG |
| UTY |
Connor Wong * |
Houston |
So. |
Pearland, Texas |
.296, 5 HR, 27 RBI, 11 2B, 1 3B, 46 R, 9 SB |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Second Team |
|
|
|
|
| Pos |
Name |
School |
Cl |
Hometown |
2016 Statistics |
| P |
Robby Howell |
UCF |
Jr. |
Fort White, Fla. |
7-3, 1.91 ERA, 94.1 IP, 62 K, .208 OBA |
| P |
Tim Cate |
UConn |
Fr. |
Manchester, Conn. |
3-1, 2.87 ERA, 69.0 IP, 86 K, .193 OBA |
| P |
Seth Romero 2 |
Houston |
So. |
West Columbia, Texas |
5-4, 2.27 ERA, 87.1 IP, 102 K, .185 OBA |
| P |
Brandon Lawson |
USF |
Jr. |
Brooksville, Fla. |
5-5, 2.49 ERA, 94.0 IP, 103 K, .220 OBA |
| P |
Ross Massey |
Tulane |
Fr. |
Baton Rouge, La. |
9-3, 2.42 ERA, 81.2 IP, 47 K, .259 OBA |
| RP |
Patrick Ruotolo |
UConn |
Jr. |
Peabody, Mass. |
2-1, 2.01 ERA, 9 SV, 31.1 IP, 41 K, .204 OBA |
| C |
Travis Watkins |
East Carolina |
Jr. |
Concord, N.C. |
.315, 3 HR, 31 RBI, 14 2B, 36 R, .429 SLG |
| 1B |
Bobby Melley 1 |
UConn |
Sr. |
Barnstable, Mass. |
.297, 9 HR, 49 RBI, 15 2B, 46 R, .498 SLG |
| 2B |
Brandon Grudzielanek |
Memphis |
Jr. |
Prosper, Texas |
.287, 3 HR, 31 RBI, 7 2B, 34 R, 9 SB |
| 2B |
Jake Willsey |
Tulane |
Jr. |
Chestnut Hill, Mass. |
.283, 9 HR, 30 RBI, 10 2B, 3 3B, .566 SLG |
| SS |
Bryan Daniello |
UConn |
Sr. |
Norwalk, Conn. |
.258, 4 HR, 31 RBI, 10 2B, 2 3B, 10 SB |
| 3B |
Hunter Hope |
Tulane |
Jr. |
Jupiter, Fla. |
.275, 12 HR, 34 RBI, 9 2B, 1 3B, .518 SLG |
| OF |
Jack Sundberg 2 |
UConn |
Sr. |
Mansfield, Conn. |
.274, 5 HR, 26 RBI, 8 2B, 3 3B, 17 SB |
| OF |
Jake Little 3 |
Memphis |
Sr. |
Franklin, Tenn. |
.314, 3 HR, 27 RBI, 13 2B, 1 3B, 12 SB |
| OF |
Darien Tubbs 2 |
Memphis |
Jr. |
Cookeville, Tenn. |
.301, 2 HR, 21 RBI, 11 2B, 4 3B, 21 SB |
| DH |
Sam Tolleson 2 |
UCF |
Sr. |
Houston, Texas |
.243, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 6 2B, 16 R |
* unanimous selection
1 2 3 indicates previous selections to the all-conference first, second or third team