CLEARWATER, Fla., – The leading hitter on the regular season championship team, Louisville outfielder Jeff Gardner was named American Athletic Conference Player of the Year Tuesday as the conference announced its postseason awards in advance of the 2014 American Athletic Conference Baseball Championship at Bright House Field.
UCF lefthander Eric Skoglund was selected as American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year while his skipper, Terry Rooney, was named American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year honors were shared by Houston’s Andrew Lantrip and Gaby Rosa of Rutgers.
Gardner was The American Preseason Player of the Year, and followed through by winning postseason honors. The senior led the conference with a .575 slugging percentage, 61 RBI and 115 total bases. His RBI total was 11 higher than the next conference player and ranks eight in the nation, while his slugger percentage was 51 points higher than second place. Gardner is a candidate for the Senior Class Award and was a two-time Player of the Week selection.
Skoglund became the ace of the Knights’ staff during a breakthrough junior campaign, finishing the regular season 9-2 with a 2.04 ERA. The 6-foot-7 lefthander led the conference in innings pitched (105.2), starts (14), and strikeouts (92). Skoglund was named The American Pitcher of the Week a league-high four times.
Two freshman pitchers shared conference Rookie of the Year honors. Houston’s Andrew Lantrip went 5-0 with a 1.64 ERA, best among all freshmen, and struck out 25 hitters in 33.0 innings as a midweek starter for the Cougars. Rutgers’ Gaby Rosa went 6-2 with a 2.28 earned-run average, making 10 starts in his debut season. Hitters batted just .219 against Rosa, who won his last four decisions as a valuable weekend starter for the Scarlet Knights.
Rooney led his team to a 34-22 overall record, and a 17-7 conference mark to claim the No. 2 seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship. The Knights started the season 7-11, then responded by winning 12 of their next 13 games, including 10 straight, with 27 wins in their final 38 games.
Fifeteen players were selected to the All-Conference First Team, with 14 players on the second and third teams. Four players were unanimous selections to the All-Conference First Team: Gardner, Skoglund, Louisville pitcher Kyle Funkhouser, and Houston DH Justin Montemayor. Six players were selected to the first team after being named to the preseason All-Conference squad: Funkhouser, Gardner, Montemayor, USF pitcher Jimmy Herget, Louisville pitcher Nick Burdi, and Cincinnati outfielder Ian Happ.
UCF, Houston, and Louisville led the way with seven all-conference selections. The Cardinals paced all schools with four first-team selections, followed by UConn with three first-team picks. Eight schools placed at least one player on the first team.
2014 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE BASEBALL AWARDS
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jeff Gardner, OF, Louisville (Sr., Louisville, Ky.)
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Eric Skoglund, LHP, UCF (Jr., Sarasota, Fla.)
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE ROOKIES OF THE YEAR
Andrew Lantrip, RHP, Houston (Fr., Livingston, Texas)
Gaby Rosa, RHP, Rutgers (Fr., Perth Amboy, N.J.)
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE COACH OF THE YEAR
Terry Rooney, UCF
All-Conference Team
First Team
Pos Name School Cl Hometown
P Eric Skoglund * UCF Jr. Sarasota, Fla.
P Kyle Funkhouser * Louisville So. Oak Forest, Ill.
P Caleb Wallingford Memphis Jr. Elkhorn, Neb.
P Jimmy Herget USF So. Tampa, Fla.
RP Nick Burdi Louisville Jr. Downers Grove, Ill.
C Max McDowell UConn So. North Huntingdon, Pa.
C Caleb Barker Houston Sr. Keller, Texas
1B Bobby Melley UConn So. Barnstable, Mass.
2B Nick Favatella Rutgers Sr. Washington Township, N.J.
SS Tommy Williams UCF Jr. North Palm Beach, Fla.
3B Alex Chittenden Louisville Sr. Indianapolis, Ind.
OF Ian Happ Cincinnati So. Pittsburgh, Pa.
OF Blake Davey UConn Jr. Newport Beach, Calif.
OF Jeff Gardner * Louisville Sr. Louisville, Ky.
DH Justin Montemayor * Houston So. Austin, Texas
* = Unanimous Selection
Second Team
Pos Name School Cl Hometown
P Zach Rodgers UCF Jr. Glendale, Ariz.
P Aaron Garza Houston Jr. Galveston, Texas
P Jake Lemoine Houston So. Bridge City, Texas
P Jared Ruxer Louisville Jr. Indianapolis, Ind.
RP Chase Wellbrock Houston Sr. Brenham, Texas
C Levi Borders USF So. Winter Haven, Fla.
1B James Vasquez UCF Jr. Palm City, Fla.
1B Casey Grayson Houston Sr. Cypress, Texas
2B Dylan Moore UCF Jr. Yorba Linda, Calif.
SS Kyle Teaf USF Jr. Tallahassee, Fla.
3B Derek Peterson Temple Sr. Wall, N.J.
OF Derrick Salberg UCF Jr. Kelso, Wash.
OF Kyle Survance Houston So. Jersey Village, Texas
OF Cole Sturgeon Louisville Sr. Owensboro, Ky.
DH Sam Tolleson UCF Jr. Houston, Texas
Third Team
Pos Name School Cl Hometown
P Anthony Marzi UConn Sr. Berlin, Conn.
P Jon Reed Memphis Sr. Tulsa, Okla.
P Howie Brey Rutgers So. Middletown, N.J.
1B Brian O’Grady Rutgers Sr. Warminster, Pa.
2B Zach Lucas Louisville Jr. Louisville, Ky.
SS Pat Sweeney Rutgers Sr. Sparta, N.J.
3B Connor Hollis Houston Fr. Arlington, Texas
OF Erik Barber UCF Jr. Lakeland, Fla.
OF Justin Glass Cincinnati Sr. Fort Wayne, Ind.
OF Matt Williams Cincinnati Sr. Mason, Ohio
OF Jake Little Memphis So. Franklin, Tenn.
OF Mike Carter Rutgers Fr. Bloomfield, N.J.
OF Vinny Zarrillo Rutgers Jr. Forked River, N.J.
DH Luke Borders USF Fr. Winter Haven, Fla.