2012 NAIA Baseball All-Americans Announced
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced the 2012 Baseball All-America teams, selected by the NAIA-American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-America Selection Committee. Miguel Beltran of Oklahoma City headlines the group of 32 student-athletes named to the first and second teams. An additional 35 players received honorable mentions. Tennessee Wesleyan's Billy Berry received Coach of the Year honors.
Beltran, a native of Long Beach, Calif., was named Player of the Year after leading the Stars to their fifth-straight Avista-NAIA World Series appearance. The senior first baseman started all 60 games for Oklahoma City this season, pacing the squad and the NAIA in home runs (27), total bases (181) and slugging percentage (.826). Beltran also led the Stars with 76 RBIs, which ranked fifth nationally. His .388 batting average trailed only teammate, and fellow All-American Dane Phillips' .410. Beltran had five multi-home run games this season, the last coming on April 27 against Wayland Baptist (Texas). Defensively, he owned a .996 fielding percentage, committing only two errors in 495 chances. Beltran is the second-straight - seventh overall - Oklahoma City player to earn the honor since the award began in 1983.
Richard Bohlken, a second team selection from Lubbock Christian (Texas), is the only repeat selection. Bohlken was a first team award winner in 2011.
Berry earned Coach of the Year honors after guiding the Bulldogs to the program’s first Avists-NAIA World Series crown. Tennessee Wesleyan ended the season with a 53-12 overall record, including a 22-2 mark in Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) action. The Bulldogs earned the right to play in the World Series after claiming the AAC tournament championship and by sweeping the Kingsport Bracket (Tenn.) of the NAIA Opening Round.Ten programs boasted multiple All-America selections, led by three honorees from Oklahoma City and Lee (Tenn.). In addition to Beltran and Phillips, the Stars landed catcher Chad Carman on the first team. Lee's representatives were second baseman Blake Barber, designated hitter Corey Davis and pitcher Kris Hall. All three were named to the first team.
There were 12 players on the first or second teams whose programs participated in the 2012 Avista-NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho this year.
2012 NAIA Baseball All-Americans| First Team | ||||
| Name | Institution | Pos. | Class | Hometown |
| Miguel Beltran* | Oklahoma City | 1B | Sr. | Long Beach, Calif. |
| Blake Barber | Lee (Tenn.) | 2B | Sr. | Modesto, Calif. |
| Adam McCormick | Tabor (Kan.) | 3B | Sr. | Pittsburg, Kan. |
| Stephen Branca | Tennessee Wesleyan | SS | Sr. | Valrico, Fla. |
| Daniel Baptista | Oklahoma Baptist | UT | Sr. | Fairfield, Okla. |
| Chad Carman | Oklahoma City | C | Sr. | Midwest City, Okla. |
| Kyle Pearson | LSU Shreveport (La.) | OF | Jr. | Stonewall, La. |
| Izaac Garsez | College of Idaho | OF | Sr. | Caldwell, Idaho |
| Matt Kimmel | Azusa Pacific (Calif.) | OF | So. | Redmond, Wash. |
| Dane Phillips | Oklahoma City | OF | Jr. | Nacogdoches, Texas |
| Corey Davis | Lee (Tenn.) | DH | Jr. | Douglas, Ga. |
| Rey Rodriguez | Robert Morris (Ill.) | P | Jr. | Valencia, Venezuela |
| Chris Thomas | Avila (Mo.) | P | Sr. | Liberty, Mo. |
| Jared Mortensen | LSU Shreveport (La.) | P | Sr. | Abbotsford, British Columbia |
| Kris Hall | Lee (Tenn.) | P | Jr. | Strongsville, Ohio |
| Dane Stone | St. Thomas (Fla.) | RP | Jr. | Miami, Fla. |
| Second Team | ||||
| Name | Institution | Pos. | Class | Hometown |
| Jordan Leyland | Azusa Pacific (Calif.) | 1B | Sr. | San Dimas, Calif. |
| Art Corona | Tabor (Kan.) | 2B | Jr. | Los Angeles, Calif. |
| Taylor Oldham | Tennessee Wesleyan | 3B | Sr. | Orlando, Fla. |
| Craig Massey | Faulkner (Ala.) | SS | Sr. | Bells, Tenn. |
| Richard Bohlken^ | Lubbock Christian (Texas) | UT | Sr. | Albuquerque, N.M. |
| Ched Gaskin | Purdue-North Central (Ind.) | C | Jr. | Brighton, Mich. |
| Tanner Moore | Bellevue (Neb.) | OF | Jr. | Omaha, Neb. |
| Micheal Mendoza | Iowa Wesleyan | OF | Sr. | San Gabriel, Calif. |
| Joel Capote | St. Thomas (Fla.) | OF | Sr. | Miami, Fla. |
| Cory Ford | Oklahoma Wesleyan | OF | Sr. | Springdale, Ark. |
| Karl Seiter | Lubbock Christian (Texas) | DH | Sr. | Port Lucie, Fla. |
| Tyler Arthur | Georgetown (Ky.) | P | Fr. | Lexington, Ky. |
| Corey Black | Faulkner (Ala.) | P | Jr. | San Diego, Calif. |
| Michael Heesch | South Carolina Beaufort | P | Sr. | Chicago, Ill. |
| Cody Hall | Auburn-Montgomery (Ala.) | P | Sr. | Opp, Ala. |
| Chad Richie | Georgetown (Ky.) | RP | Jr. | Lexington, Ky. |
| Honorable Mention | ||||
| Name | Institution | |||
| Roemon Fields | Bethany (Kan.) | |||
| Shane Clawson | Bryan (Tenn.) | |||
| Jarel Lewis | College of Idaho | |||
| Austin Coleman | Cal State San Marcos | |||
| Mike Mandarino | Cumberland (Tenn.) | |||
| Ian McGeorge | Embry-Riddle (Fla.) | |||
| Kevin Maloney | Embry-Riddle (Fla.) | |||
| Will Dismukes | Faulkner (Ala.) | |||
| Robert Prieto | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | |||
| Brady Wathen | Grand View (Iowa) | |||
| Eric Schultz | Huntington (Ind.) | |||
| Matt McHenry | Judson (Ill.) | |||
| Roberto Reyes | Lee (Tenn.) | |||
| Alfonso Casillas | Lewis-Clark (Idaho) | |||
| Leandro Perez | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | |||
| Stephen Hobbins | LSU Shreveport (La.) | |||
| Ben Alison | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | |||
| Abraham Carrasco | Mount Mercy (Iowa) | |||
| Alex Heideman | Nebraska Wesleyan | |||
| Mitchell Prophet | Oklahoma Baptist | |||
| Rich Hawkins | Oklahoma City | |||
| Kyle Clifton | Park (Mo.) | |||
| Derek Peluso | Point Park (Pa.) | |||
| James Dawson | Robert Morris (Ill.) | |||
| Cory Lehman | Siena Heights (Mich.) | |||
| Jesse Gregurich | St. Francis (Ill.) | |||
| Victor Madrazo | St. Thomas (Fla.) | |||
| Daniel Cloteaux | Sterling (Kan.) | |||
| Chase Benifield | Talladega (Ala.) | |||
| Ryne Otis | Taylor (Ind.) | |||
| Rhett Goodmiller | Taylor (Ind.) | |||
| Jake Stone | Tennessee Wesleyan | |||
| Cody Dew | Union (Tenn.) | |||
| Tim Leary | Westmont (Calif.) | |||
| Gene Felise | York (Neb.) | |||
^ 2011 All-America Selection
