MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) baseball programs dominated the D3baseball.com All-West Region team, taking three of the four major awards and placing eleven total players on the three teams.
Trinity University's Jeremy Wolf was named All-West Region Player of the Year with his coach Tim Scannell earning Coach of the Year honors. First-year pitcher from Texas Lutheran University Nathan Malinovsky earned All-West Region Rookie of the Year.
Wolf and Malinovsky were joined on the first team by Trinity's Drew Butler, Connor Moore and Teddy Turner. Second team selections consisted of Trinity's Andrew Waters and Michael Walker. The third team rounded out with Trinity's Nick Jewett, Southwestern University's Will Cates, Centenary College's Michael Schimpf and TLU's Lincoln Baylor.
Wolf, a senior outfielder from Scottsdale, Ariz., earns the honor after also being named SCAC Player-of-the-Year. Wolf led the Tigers to their fourth consecutive SCAC tournament title and the programs second consecutive World Series berth. Wolf leads the league in slugging percentage (.780), hits (77), RBI's (64), home runs (11) and total bases (142). He is second in the league in batting average (.423), OBP (.516) and runs (56). Wolf was named the West Regional Tournament MVP for the second consecutive year and set the single-season SCAC doubles record with 28, a record that had held for 13 years.
Malinovsky, a freshman pitcher from New Braunfels, Texas, became the first player in SCAC history to earn both SCAC Pitcher-of-the-Year and Freshman-of-the-Year in the same season. He posted a league-best 1.97 ERA and .215 opposing batting average, and was also top five in the league in strikeouts (58) and wins (9). In addition to his first team All-SCAC nod, he also earned a spot on the SCAC All-Tournament team.
Scannell has been at the helm of the Tigers baseball program for 18 seasons and has solidified himself as the winningest Trinity baseball coach in history currently posting a 597-229 record. This year, Scannel has led the Tigers to their seventh consecutive NCAA Regional Tournament and second consecutive NCAA Division III World Series. The American Baseball Coaches Association honored Coach Scannell's achievements by electing him the 2015 ABCA/Diamond NCAA Division III West Region Coach of the Year. He has also been named SCAC Coach-of-the-Year nine times.
Butler, a senior catcher from Phoenix, Ariz., was a first team All-SCAC selection this year after posting a .360 batting average, .571 slugging percentage, 63 hits, 46 RBI's, 14 doubles and 7 home runs. Butler also earned a spot on the SCAC All-Tournament team.
Moore, a senior shortstop from Phoenix, Ariz., was a first team All-SCAC and All-Tournament selections this year and leads the SCAC in runs scored (60), walks (34), stolen bases (30) and is top five in hits (65).
Turner, a senior pitcher from Houston, Texas, earned first team All-SCAC honors and has top five numbers in ERA (2.79), opposing batting average (.219), strikeouts (55) and wins (7). Turner earned a spot on the West Regional All-Tournament team after striking out ten without allowing an earned run during his appearance.
Waters, a senior outfielder from Houston, Texas, was an SCAC All-Tournament selection, a second team All-SCAC pick and earned a spot on the West Regional All-Tournament team. He currently posts top five numbers in the SCAC in batting average (.417), slugging percentage (.777), RBI's (43), doubles (16), triples (5) and home runs (8).
Walker, a senior pitcher from Humble, Texas, was a second team All-SCAC selection in addition to an All-Tournament nod. He is top five in the SCAC in ERA (2.93) and tied for second with nine wins. He earned the All-Tournament selection after pitching a complete game against TLU in the SCAC semifinal game to put the Tigers in position to win their fourth straight title.
Jewett, a senior first baseman from Phoenix, Ariz., was a first team All-SCAC selection and was named to the conference All-Tournament team and West Regional All-Tournament team. He is top five in the SCAC in nearly every offensive category including batting average (.421), slugging percentage (.634), OBP (.497), runs scored (47), doubles (16) and total bases (104). At the West Regional tournament, he hit a whopping .526 on a team-best 10 hits and slugged .579 to help send the Tigers to their second straight World Series.
Cates, a senior outfielder from Houston, Texas, was a first team All-SCAC selection, All-Tournament team selection and was named Academic All-District in his final year. Cates finished top five in the SCAC in batting average (.388), slugging percentage (.671), runs scored (45), hits (66), home runs (8), stolen bases (28) and total bases (114). He also led the league in triples (7).
Schimpf, a junior outfielder from Shreveport, La., was a first team All-SCAC selection, All-Tournament team selection and was named Academic All-District this year. He leads the SCAC in batting average (.425) and OBP (.521). He is also top five in slugging percentage (.595), hits (65) and walks (24).
Baylor, a senior pitcher/utility player from Schertz, Texas, was a first team All-SCAC selection and posted a .388 batting average on 31 hits for 17 RBI's as a utility player/designated hitter. He was also solid out of the pen with 51 strikeouts. In conference play alone, Baylor hit .480 and went 4-1 on the mound with two complete games.
The All-Region squad is nominated by the Sports Information Directors and voted on by a committee from around the region. The 2016 season marks the fifth year that D3baseball.com has named All-Region teams, with 800 players nominated.
