DALLAS (NCBWA) – The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association announced its District Players of the Year for all nine districts for the 2022 season. This season’s honorees include:
District 1 (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania)
• Andrew Cossetti, Saint Joseph’s, Sr., C, Eagleville, Pennsylvania
.327 BA, 54GP, 53GS, 199AB, 61R, 65H, 16 2B, 2 3B, 19 HR, 65 RBI, 34 BB, 14 HBP, 30K, 0-0 SB/SBA
District 2 (Connecticut, West Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Washington D.C.)
• Nick Cimillo, Rutgers, r-Jr., C, Suffern, New York
.385 BA, 54GP, 53GS, 205AB, 67R, 79H, 18 2B, 0 3B, 16 HR, 52 RBI, 39 BB, 36K, 1-1 SB/SBA
• Austin Peterson, Connecticut, Sr, SP, RHP, Chesterton, Indiana
11-2, 3.30 ERA, 17GP, 16GS, 0/1SHO, 109.0IP, 93H, 51R, 40ER, 23BB, 145K, .227 Opp. BA
District 3 (Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida)
• Trey Lipscomb, Tennessee, Sr., 3B, Frederick, Maryland
.363 BA, 63GP, 63GS, 237AB, 67R, 86H, 17 2B, 3 3B, 21 HR, 80 RBI, 26 BB, 35K, 4-5 SB/SBA
District 4 (Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland)
• Kevin Parada, Georgia Tech, So., C, Pasadena, California
.360 BA, 60GP, 60GS, 258AB, 79R, 93H, 10 2B, 1 3B, 26 HR, 88 RBI, 30 BB, 15 HBP, 32K, 11-12 SB/SBA
• Max Wagner, Clemson, So., 3B, Green Bay, Wisconsin
.369 BA, 58GP, 54GS, 203AB, 66R, 75H, 15 2B, 1 3B, 27 HR, 76 RBI, 45 BB, 51K, 2-3 SB/SBA
District 5 (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin)
• John Michael Bertrand, Notre Dame, GRAD., SP, LHP, Alpharetta, Georgia
9-2, 2.27 ERA, 16GP, 16GS, 0/1SHO, 99.0IP, 83H, 30R, 25ER, 19BB, 103K, .223 Opp. BA
District 6 (Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota)
• Justin Campbell, Oklahoma State, So., SP, RHP, Simi Valley, California
9-2, 3.82 ERA, 17GP, 16GS, 2CG, 0/2SHO, 101.1IP, 83H, 45R, 43ER, 25BB, 141K, .223 Opp. BA
• Peyton Graham, Oklahoma, r-So., SS, Waxahachie, Texas
.339 BA, 59GP, 58GS, 245AB, 70R, 83H, 14 2B, 4 3B, 19 HR, 68 RBI, 23 BB, 15 HBP, 59K, 32-34 SB/SBA
District 7 (Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana)
• Ivan Melendez, Texas, 1B, r-Jr., El Paso, Texas
.404 BA, 62GP, 62GS, 228AB, 71R, 92H, 18 2B, 2 3B, 30 HR, 90 RBI, 49 BB, 44K, 1-1 SB/SBA
District 8 (Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, Montana)
• Paul Skenes, Air Force, So., SP/C, RHP, Lake Forest, California
10-3, 2.73 ERA, 15GP, 15 GS, 0CG, 85.2IP, 70H, 30R, 26ER, 30BB, 96K, .224 Opp. BA
.314 BA, 52GP, 51GS, 153AB, 39R, 48H, 10 2B, 0 3B, 13 HR, 38 RBI, 21 BB, 40K, 0-0 SB/SBA
District 9 (California, Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Arizona, Alaska)
• Cooper Hjerpe, Oregon State, So., SP, LHP, Capay, California
10-2, 2.40 ERA, 17GP, 16 GS, 0CG, 0/2 CG, 1SV, 97.2IP, 64H, 28R, 26ER, 21BB, 155K, .182 Opp BA
Earlier this week, Hjerpe, Melendez and Parada were named to the Golden Spikes finalist list by USA Baseball.
Hjerpe, Lipscomb, Melendez, Parada and Wagner were also tabbed by the NCBWA as finalists for the Dick Howser Trophy.
Saint Joseph’s senior catcher Andrew Cossetti was District 1’s player of the year following another strong season at the plate with career highs in home runs (19), runs batted in (65) and batting average (.327). Cossetti earned first-team All-Atlantic 10 honors for a second consecutive season. He reached base safely in 48 consecutive games, dating back to the 2021 season, to set a school record.
In District 2, Nick Cimilio of Rutgers and Austin Peterson of Connecticut were co-players of the year.
Cimillo, a redshirt junior catcher, was a second-team All-Big 10 selection and helped the Scarlet Knights to their first Big 10 Tournament championship game appearance. He paced the Scarlet Knights with a conference-leading .385 batting average, .707 slugging percentage, also a conference-best, and a .492 on base average. His 16 home runs tied for the team lead.
Peterson, meanwhile, is a senior righthander who has helped Connecticut to this weekend’s NCAA Super Regional appearance at Stanford. It’s the program’s second appearance in a Super Regional. The Huskies claimed the Big East’s regular season championship and tournament championship for a second straight season as Peterson posted an 11-2 record and a 3.30 ERA over the course of 17 appearances, 16 being starts. A first-team All-Big East honoree, Peterson has held opponents to a .227 batting average and struck out 145 batters in 109 innings.
In District 3, Tennessee’s Trey Lipscomb, a senior, earned player of the year honors as the Volunteers blitzed their way through the season entering this weekend’s Super Regional series against Notre Dame. Lipscomb, a third baseman, hit .363 with 41 extra base hits, including 21 home runs, and 80 runs batted in. He earned first-team All-SEC honors and is a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist as well as a Dick Howser Trophy finalist. Lipscomb leads the SEC in RBI’s and ranks fifth nationally in that category. Conference-wise he ranks among the SEC leaders in slugging percentage (.726), total bases (172), home runs and runs scored (67).
Kevin Parada, a catcher at Georgia Tech, and Max Wagner, an infielder from Clemson were honored as co-players of the year in District 4. Both are finalists for the Dick Howser Trophy and were first-team All-ACC selections.
Parada, who also is a finalist for the Buster Posey Award and a first-team All-America by Collegiate Baseball, knocked in 88 runs to lead the ACC, while hitting 26 home runs and posting a .360 batting average. He paced the ACC with 78 runs scored.
Wagner, a first-team All-America by Collegiate Baseball, slammed an ACC-leading 27 home runs and knocked in 76 runs while hitting .369. His .852 slugging average topped the ACC while his on-base average of .496 ranked third.
Notre Dame’s John Michael Bertrand was tabbed as player of the year in District 5. The graduate left-hander carries a 9-2 mark into this weekend’s Super Regional against top-seeded Tennessee. In 16 starts, the first-team All-ACC selection and Collegiate Baseball third-team All-American, has struck out 103 hitters, while limiting opponents to a .223 batting average.
Oklahoma State right-hander Justin Campbell and Oklahoma shortstop Peyton Graham were honored as co-players of the year in District 6.
Campbell, a Collegiate Baseball second-team All-American, compiled a 9-2 mark and a 3.82 ERA over the course of 17 appearances, 16 being starts. He fanned a Big 12-leading 141 batters in a 101 1/3 innings, also a conference-best, averaging 12.52 strikeouts per nine innings. He earned first-team All-Big 12 Conference honors.
Graham, who also was a first-team All-Big 12 Conference honoree and a Collegiate Baseball third-team All-American, has helped the Sooners to this weekend’s NCAA Super Regional appearance at Virginia Tech. Graham hit .339, ranking ninth in the Big 12 and his .655 slugging average ranked third. Overall, he ranks among the Big 12 leaders in 12 offensive categories, including first with 71 runs.
Also out of the Big 12 and earning player of the year honors in District 7 was Texas first baseman, Ivan Melendez. With 30 home runs, he leads the nation entering this weekend’s NCAA Super Regional at East Carolina. Melendez, The Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year, also is a Dick Howser Trophy and Golden Spikes Award finalist. He has knocked in 90 runs and leads the Big 12 in six offensive categories, including batting average (.409), slugging percentage (.907) and on-base average (.528).
In District 8, it was Air Force’s utility-man Paul Skenes for the second straight year. The Mountain West Conference co-pitcher of the year had a 10-3 record in 85 2/3 innings of work, posting a 2.73 ERA, striking out 96 batters, walking only 30 and opponent batters hit .224 against him. As a position player, the catcher hit .314 with 10 doubles, 13 home runs and drove in 38 runs.
The sophomore recorded a 7-1 mark on the mound in conference action with a league-best 2.40 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 10 starts. Skenes allowed 16 earned runs and 22 walks in 60 innings pitched. His seven wins were an in-conference program record, while his 2.40 ERA was the third-lowest by a Falcons pitcher since 2000. His 56 strikeouts was the second-most by an Air Force pitcher in Mountain West play. He had eight or more strikeouts in seven games and had a season-high 10 K’s against San Jose State and UNLV.
Rounding out the district players of the year was Oregon State’s Cooper Hjerpe in District 9. A sophomore left-hander, he led the Pac 12 with 10 wins as the Beavers host Auburn in a Super Regional this weekend. In 97 2/3 innings, Hjerpe has struck out a NCAA-leading 155 batters, averaging a nation-best 14.92 per nine innings. He is a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy.