Prevost, Ruhlman Earn BIG EAST Major Awards
5/19/2014 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 19, 2014
NEW YORK, N.Y. - Senior Josh Prevost (Belle Mead, N.J.) was named BIG EAST Baseball Pitcher of the Year, while teammate D.J. Ruhlman (Belle Mead, N.J.)was named Co-Player of the Year as the conference announced its major awards and All-Conference teams on Monday.
Prevost, Ruhlman, Kyle Grimm (Bergenfield, N.J.) and Derek Jenkins (Annandale, N.J.) were all named to the All-BIG EAST First Team. Prevost was one of just two unanimous selections. Sal Annunziata (Bronx, N.Y.), Luke Cahill (Tinton Falls, N.J.) and Dillon Hamlin (Colts Neck, N.J.)were named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team. Seton Hall's seven members of All-BIG EAST Teams are the most since placing seven on teams following the 1995 season.
Prevost becomes Seton Hall's fifth recipient of the BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year Award and the first since Ted Klamm won it in 1992. Current associate head coach Phil Cundariwas the first Pirate to win the award in 1985.
No pitcher in the BIG EAST was more dominant than Prevost throughout the 2014 season. The 6-foot-8 right-hander was named conference Pitcher of the Week six times and to the Weekly Honor Roll and additional three times. Recently named Seton Hall's Senior Student-Athlete of the Year, he has been named to the College Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher of the Year watch list as well as the watch list for the prestigious Golden Spikes Award. Prevost enters post-season play needing just one win to tie Seton Hall's single-season record for wins. Currently, he's 11-2 with a microscopic 1.76 ERA. Prevost currently leads the BIG EAST in wins, ERA, strikeouts, opponent batting average, innings pitched, complete games and shutouts. On April 25, he threw a complete-game shutout against Villanova, scattering just two hits, striking out a career-high 13 batters and not issuing a walk.
Ruhlman becomes Seton Hall's fourth recipient of the BIG EAST Player of the Year Award and the first since David Kim won it in 1997. Ruhlman and Creighton's Reagan Fowler tied in the voting, so they are co-recipients.
Ruhlman has been a force in the middle of the Pirates' batting order all season long. A candidate for the Gregg Olson Award, which honors the nation's top breakout player, he led the BIG EAST in batting average for most of the season, before dropping to second with a .364 batting average over the last couple of weeks. Ruhlman was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll three times and finished among the conference's top-five in batting average, slugging percentage, runs scored, hits and stolen bases. Possessing a unique blend of power and speed, Ruhlman belted three home runs, third-most on the team, and stole 15 bases, second-most in the BIG EAST. Defensively, Ruhlman took over as the everyday shortstop at the start of the season and committed the fewest errors at that position of any regular in the BIG EAST.
Grimm and Jenkins were recognized at the top performers at their positions, earning placement on the All-BIG EAST First Team for the first time in their careers.
Grimm played a strong third base, while batting .292 with two home runs and a team second-best 38 RBIs. Primarily batting third or fifth in the Pirates' order, Grimm led the BIG EAST with eight sacrifice flies in 2014. Jenkins was a terror on the base paths for Seton Hall batting at the top of the lineup. Twice named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll, he batted .329, 11th best in the league and stole 37 bases, second-most in the nation.
Annunziata earns All-BIG EAST status for a second straight season, despite a deep crop of talented first basemen in the conference. Named BIG EAST Player of the Week on Feb. 24, he batted .346 and led the conference in RBIs, slugging percentage and total bases. He also ranked among the BIG EAST top-five in hits and doubles. Cahill had the BIG EAST's top win percentage with a 10-1 record and ranked among the conference's top-five in ERA, batters struck out looking and fewest walks. He was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Week on May 12. Hamlin was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Feb. 17 and earned placement on the Johnny Bench Award watch list. The senior batted .306 and set career-highs in hits, doubles, home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage and stolen bases.
Seton Hall will return to action on Thursday, May 22 for the first round of the 2014 BIG EAST Championship. The third-seeded Pirates will face second-seeded St. John's at 7:00 p.m. in MCU Park in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Player of the Year
Reagan Fowler, Creighton, So., 1B
D.J. Ruhlman, SETON HALL, Jr., SS
Pitcher of the Year
Josh Prevost, SETON HALL, Sr., RHP
Rookie of the Year
Michael Donadio, St. John's, Fr., OF
Coach of the Year
Ed Servais, Creighton
All-BIG EAST First Team
Daniel Rizzie, Xavier, So., C
Reagan Fowler, Creighton, So., 1B
Jake Peter, Creighton, Jr., 2B
D.J. Ruhlman, SETON HALL, Jr., SS
Kyle Grimm, SETON HALL, Jr., 3B
Nick Collins, Georgetown, So., DH
Mike Gerber, Creighton, Sr., OF #
Michael Donadio, St. John's, Fr., OF
Derek Jenkins, SETON HALL, So., OF
Matt Warren, Creighton, So., SP
James Lomangino, St. John's, R-Sr., SP
Josh Prevost, SETON HALL, Sr., SP #
Vinny Nittoli, Xavier, R-Sr., SP
Joe Kuzia, St. John's, Jr., RP
All-BIG EAST Second Team
Nick Collins, Georgetown, So., C
Dillon Hamlin, SETON HALL, Sr., C
Sal Annunziata, SETON HALL, Jr., 1B
Todd Czinege, Villanova, Fr., 2B
Bret Dennis, St. John's, Jr., SS
Robbie Knightes, St. John's, Fr., 3B
Derek Hasenbeck, Xavier, Jr., DH
Zach Lauricella, St. John's, Jr., OF
Alex Caruso, St. John's, So., OF
Brian Bruening, Xavier, R-Jr., OF
Gunner Johnson, Butler, Sr., SP
Ryan McCormick, St. John's, So., SP
Luke Cahill, SETON HALL, So., SP
Scott Klever, Xavier, Sr., SP
Bryan Sova, Creighton, Sr., RP
Matt Meurer, Villanova, Sr., RP
& - 16 players because of a tie in the voting
# - unanimous first-team selection
