Richmond, Va. - Rice sophomore right-hander Jeff Niemann has been named the national player of the year by CollegeBaseballInsider.com. Niemann, who improved to 17-0 with a win over Southwest Missouri State in the opening round of the College World Series, edged out Southern second baseman Rickie Weeks and New Mexico State first baseman Billy Becher in the two-year old Web sites first All-American team, which was decided before the start of the College World Series. Niemann has posted a 1.67 ERA and struck out 152 batters in 129.1 innings for the Owls.
Rice pitcher Wade Townsend was also named to the first team while Owl relief pitcher David Aardsma, Nevada third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and Nevada freshman catcher Brett Hayes were named honorable mention.
Weeks and Becher put together monster seasons and lead the position players on the first team. Weeks, who was the second player chosen in the 2003 Major League Draft, led the nation with a .479 average and added 16 homers, 66 RBI and 82 runs for the Jaguars. All Becher did was bat .420 with an NCAA-leading 32 homers and 118 RBI.
Rounding out the first team are Arizona State shortstop Dustin Pedroia, Wake Forest third baseman Jamie DAntona, Stanford catcher Ryan Garko, Cal State Fullerton outfielder Shane Costa, William & Mary outfielder Michael Brown, Texas outfielder Dustin Majewski, Tulane first baseman Michael Aubrey (designated hitter), Texas A&M utility player Scott Beerer and pitchers Jered Weaver (Long Beach State), Tim Stauffer (Richmond), Tom Mastny (Furman), David Marchbanks (South Carolina), John Hudgins (Stanford), Huston Street (Texas) and Ryan Wagner (Houston).
Earlier this month, CollegeBaseballInsider.com named North Carolina States Elliott Avent its national coach of the year.
CollegeBaseballInsider.com began covering college baseball on a national level on Feb. 14, 2002. The site has attracted 1 million hits this baseball season.
CollegeBaseballInsider.com All-American TeamsFirst TeamFirst base - Billy Becher, New Mexico State, junior
Second base - Rickie Weeks, Southern, junior
Shortstop - Dustin Pedroia, Arizona State, sophomore
Third base - Jamie DAntona, Wake Forest, senior
Catcher - Ryan Garko, Stanford, senior
Outfield - Shane Costa, Cal State Fullerton, junior
Outfield - Michael Brown, William & Mary, senior
Outfield - Dustin Majewski, Texas, senior
Designated hitter - Michael Aubrey, Tulane, junior
Utility - Scott Beerer, Texas A&M, junior
Starting pitcher -
Jeff Niemann, Rice, sophomoreStarting pitcher - Jered Weaver, Long Beach State, sophomore
Starting pitcher - Tom Mastny, Furman, junior
Starting pitcher - David Marchbanks, South Carolina, sophomore
Starting pitcher - Tim Stauffer, Richmond, junior
Starting pitcher - John Hudgins, Stanford, junior
Starting pitcher -
Wade Townsend, Rice, sophomoreRelief pitcher - Huston Street, Texas, sophomore
Relief pitcher - Ryan Wagner, Houston, sophomore
Second TeamFirst base - Matt Hopper, Nebraska, senior
Second base - Luke Appert, Minnesota, senior
Shortstop - Aaron Hill, LSU, junior
Third base - Ryan Roberts, Texas-Arlington, senior
Catcher - Mitch Maier, Toledo, junior
Outfield - David Murphy, Baylor, junior
Outfield - Jordan Foster, Lamar, junior
Outfield - Beau Hearod, Alabama, senior
Designated hitter - Jeff Larish, Arizona State, sophomore
Designated hitter - Lee Curtis, College of Charleston, senior
Utility - John Gragg, Bethune-Cookman, senior
Starting pitcher - Scott Lewis, Ohio State, sophomore
Starting pitcher - Vern Sterry, North Carolina State, junior
Starting pitcher - Aaron Marsden, Nebraska, senior
Starting pitcher - Abe Alvarez, Long Beach State, junior
Starting pitcher - Randy Beam, Florida Atlantic, junior
Starting pitcher - Tim Alvarez, Southeast Missouri State, senior
Relief pitcher - Steven Register, Auburn, junior
Relief pitcher - Joey Devine, North Carolina State, freshman
Honorable MentionFirst base - Eddie Kim, James Madison; Chris Alexander, New Mexico; Kelly Hunt, Bowling Green; Mike Costello, Towson; Humberto Aguilar, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Second base - Marc Tugwell, Virginia Tech; Tim Moss, Texas; Steve Sollmann, Notre Dame
Shortstop - Ryan Braun, Miami; Stephen Drew, Florida State; Dusty Young, New Mexico State; Evan Estrada, Pepperdine
Third base - Brian Snyder, Stetson; Brian Buscher, South Carolina; Neil Sellers, Eastern Kentucky;
Kevin Kouzmanoff, Nevada; Jesse Novalis, Lehigh
Catcher - Tony Richie, Florida State; David Castillo, Oral Roberts; Jeff Clement, Southern California; Landon Powell, South Carolina; Jeremy West, Arizona State; Tim DAquila, Central Connecticut State;
Brett Hayes, NevadaOutfield - Brad Snyder, Ball State; Carlos Quentin, Stanford; Clint King, Southern Miss; Jeff Cook, Southern Miss; Brian Cleveland, North Carolina; Adam Boeve, Northern Iowa; Jeff Van Houten, Arizona, Ryan Harvey, UC Riverside; Josh Phifer, Air Force; Chad Hauseman, Jacksonville; Ryan Mulhern, Mississippi State; Josh Anderson, Eastern Kentucky; Andre Ethier, Arizona State; Chuck Peters, Illinois-Chicago; Scott Dierks, Santa Clara
Utility - Stephen Head, Mississippi; Wes Whisler, UCLA; Micah Owings, Georgia Tech; Joe Koshansky, Virginia
Starting pitcher - Matt Lynch, Florida State; Trent Peterson, Florida State; Daniel Davidson, Florida State; Michael Rogers, North Carolina State; Brad Ziegler, Southwest Missouri State; Kyle Sleeth, Wake Forest; Chuck Bechtel, Marist; Chris Niesel, Notre Dame; J.D. Cockroft, Miami; Dewon Day, Southern; Thomas Pauly, Princeton; Jamie Merchant, Vermont; Zac Cline, West Virginia; R.J. Swindle, Charleston Southern; Jessie Corn, Jacksonville State; Mark Romanczuk, Stanford; Paul Maholm, Mississippi State
Relief pitcher - Daniel Hodges, Florida State; Matt Dalton, Virginia Tech; Cla Meredith, Virginia Commonwealth; J.P. Gagne, Notre Dame; Chad Cordero, Cal State Fullerton;
David Aardsma, Rice; Matt Wilhite, Western Kentucky