May 30, 2008
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) is proud to announce the 2008 NAIA Baseball All-Americans, as selected by the NAIA-Baseball Coaches Association (BCA) All-America Selection Committee. National Championship participants Lee (Tenn.) and Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) placed six combined players on the All-America Team, including the Rawlings-NAIA Player of the Year Kyle Greene. The senior from Lewiston, Idaho is the third LCSC athlete to win this prestigious award and second straight. Beau Mills, who was drafted by the Cleveland Indians last spring, won the honor last year while Jim O'Dell held the distinction in 1983.
Greene had an MVP type season based on these numbers: .429 batting average, .934 slugging percentage, 18 home runs, 69 runs, 30 2Bs and 93 hits. In 61 games, Greene ranks in the top 20 in numerous hitting categories including first in overall doubles, ninth in slugging percentage and 20th in hitting percentage. Greene and his teammates will take on No. 1 Lee (Tenn.) tonight in the 52nd Annual AVISTA-NAIA World Series title game.
The All-America Teams consist of 17 members on the First Team, 17 on the Second Team and an Honorable Mention Team, which is limited to 34 players. The HM Team is not position-specific.
The 2008 NAIA Coach of the Year will be announced in early January at the ABCA Coaches Convention.
2008 NAIA Baseball All-America Teams
First Team
|
Pos. |
Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
|
1B |
Josh Collazo |
Oklahoma Baptist |
Jr. |
Tampa, Fla. |
|
2B |
Joel Torres |
Bacone (Okla.) |
Sr. |
Cagaus, P.R. |
|
SS |
Matt Venegas |
Azusa Pacific (Calif.) |
Sr. |
LaVerne, Calif. |
|
3B |
Brent Weaver |
Oklahoma City |
Jr. |
Midwest City, Okla. |
|
UT |
Kyle Green^ |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
Sr. |
Lewiston, Idaho |
|
OF |
Kirk Nieuwenheis |
Azusa Pacific (Calif.) |
Jr. |
Denver, Colo. |
|
OF |
Jeremy Strack |
William Jewell (Mo.) |
Sr. |
Gardner, Kan. |
|
OF |
Trevor Urbanick |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
Sr. |
Conneautville, Pa. |
|
OF |
Dan Higgins |
St. Francis (Ill.) |
Jr. |
Chicago, Ill. |
|
C |
Tyler Diamond |
The Masters (Calif.) |
Jr. |
Simi Valley, Calif. |
|
C |
Cody Newman |
Saint Mary (Kan.) |
Sr. |
Peculiar, Mo. |
|
P |
Gary Poynter |
Lubbock Christian (Texas) |
Jr. |
Flower Mound, Texas |
|
P |
Jordan Roberts |
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) |
Sr. |
Labelle, R.I. |
|
P |
Marty Popham |
Union (Ky.) |
Jr. |
Louisville, Ky. |
|
P |
David Colopy |
Ohio Dominican |
Jr. |
Groveport, Ohio |
|
RP |
Pablo Lopez |
Lee (Tenn.) |
Jr. |
Hollywood, Fla. |
|
DH |
Daniel Jape |
Reinhardt (Ga.) |
Sr. |
Woodstock, Ga. |
^ NAIA Player of the Year
Second Team
|
Pos. |
Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
|
1B |
Chris Warters |
Lee (Tenn.) |
Jr. |
Los Angeles, Calif. |
|
2B |
Hawkins Gebbers |
Biola (Calif.) |
Jr. |
Brewster, Wash. |
|
SS |
Kody Hightower |
Southern Wesleyan (S.C.) |
Sr. |
Lenoir, N.C. |
|
3B |
Thomas Englehardt |
Fisher (Mass.) |
Jr. |
Bradford, Mass. |
|
UT |
Jim Baker |
Spring Arbor (Mich.) |
Sr. |
Chelsea, Mich. |
|
OF |
Julian Alvarez |
Bacone (Okla.) |
Jr. |
Boston, Mass. |
|
OF |
Chris Hardin |
Southern Nazarene (Okla.) |
Sr. |
Bethany, Okla. |
|
OF |
Kevin Leslie |
Faulkner (Ala.) |
Jr. |
Stone Mountain, Ga. |
|
OF |
John Richards |
York (Neb.) |
Sr. |
Littleton, Colo. |
|
C |
Brian Ward |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
Jr. |
Huntington Beach, Calif. |
|
C |
Joe Janusik |
Ohio Dominican |
Sr. |
Cincinnati, Ohio |
|
P |
Matt Fitts |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
Jr. |
Santa Rosa, Calif. |
|
P |
Richard Sullivan |
Savanah College of Art & Design (Ga.) |
Jr. |
Louisville, Ky. |
|
P |
Brandon Moore |
Indiana Wesleyan |
Sr. |
Crawfordsville, Ind. |
|
P |
Josh Hester |
Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) |
Sr. |
Huntsville, Ala. |
|
RP |
Aaron Varnum |
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) |
Jr. |
Houston, Texas |
|
DH |
Stephen Kohatsu |
Azusa Pacific (Calif.) |
Sr. |
Covina, Calif. |
Honorable Mention Team
|
Pos. |
Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
|
P |
Jesse Bachman |
Spring Arbor (Mich.) |
Jr. |
Middlebury, Ind. |
|
P |
Chris Baker |
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) |
Sr. |
Milwaukie, Ore. |
|
3B |
Bobby Bratton |
Martin Methodist (Tenn.) |
Sr. |
Columbia, Tenn. |
|
3B |
Richey Burgos |
Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) |
Sr. |
Ponce, Puerto Rico |
|
P |
Greg Byron |
Bethany College (Kan.) |
Sr. |
Toronto, Canada |
|
P |
Daniel Cutler |
Saint Ambrose (Iowa) |
Sr. |
Davenport, Iowa |
|
P |
Brad Davidson |
Avila (Mo.) |
Sr. |
Blue Springs, Mo. |
|
DH |
Brian Dirheimer |
Trevecca Nazarene (Tenn.) |
Jr. |
Hamilton, Ohio |
|
OF |
Venson Doster |
Ohio Dominican |
Sr. |
Lanham, MD |
|
OF |
Kahoi Downing |
Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) |
Jr. |
Honolulu, Ha. |
|
P |
Jeff Duda |
