May 31, 2011
For Immediate Release
Contact: Bo Carter
214-418-6132
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Capps, Larsson selected Division II Players of the Year
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NCBWA ANNOUNCES 2011
DIVISION II ALL-AMERICA TEAM

DALLAS (NCBWA) – Mount Olive College pitcher Carter Capps, Cameron University outfielder Chase Larsson and University of West Florida head coach Mike Jeffcoat headlined the list of players who received National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Division II All-America honors.

Capps, a sophomore right-hander from Kinston, N.C., was selected as the NCBWA National Pitcher of the Year and first-team All-America performer after compiling a perfect 14-0 record and 1.37 earned run average, striking out 124 and walking only 16 in 111.1 innings pitched for the Southeast Regional champion Trojans.

Larsson, a junior from Vancouver, British Columbia, was named as the NCBWA National Player of the Year and a first-team All-America performer after he batted .432 with 13 doubles, four triples, 29 home runs and 84 RBIs for the Aggies.

Jeffcoat, who is in his sixth season as UWF's head coach, was named as the NCBWA National Coach of the Year after leading the Argonauts to a 49-9 record, the Gulf South Conference East and South Regional championships and a berth in the Division II national tournament.

Four of Jeffcoat's UWF players earned NCBWA All-America honors, led by first-team outfielder and South Region Player of the Year Greg Pron. A trio of Argonauts was named to second-team status: Starting pitcher Daniel Vargas-Villa, relief pitcher Shane Waller and shortstop Brandon Brewer.

Larsson was one of three Cameron student athletes who earned NCBWA All-America honors. Second baseman Josh Dawson and outfielder Kenny Held each earned a second-team honor.

Capps was joined on the NCBWA All-America team by two teammates, first-team designated hitter/utility player Mike Knox and honorable mention third baseman Jacob Rogers.

A panel of Division II media personnel and sports information directors selected the NCBWA All-America Team. To be eligible for NCBWA All-America honors, a student athlete must be selected as a first-team NCBWA all-region performer. The National Pitcher of the Year, National Player of the Year and National Coach of the Year are selected from a pool of candidates who earned those honors in regional voting.

The complete 2011 NCBWA Division II All-America Team included:

Pos. First Team School Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown
1B Dean Green Barry 6-4 230 Sr. Tulsa, Okla.
2B Stuart Drew West Georgia 5-9 162 Jr. Douglas, Ga.
3B Kendall Boone West Texas A&M 6-1 205 Jr. Keller, Texas
SS Tanner Funk Georgia College 6-0 195 Jr. Kearney, Mo.
C Joe Maloney Limestone 6-2 195 Sr. Aston, Pa.
OF Chase Larsson Cameron 6-4 220 Jr. Vancouver, B.C.
OF Dodson McPherson Wingate 6-2 200 Jr. Graham, N.C.
OF Greg Pron West Florida 6-6 195 Sr. Daphne, Ala.
UT Mike Knox Mount Olive 6-4 230 Jr. Cary, N.C.
SP Carter Capps Mount Olive 6-5 220 So. Kinston, N.C.
SP Dave Middendorf Northern Kentucky 6-4 225 Sr. Cincinnati, Ohio
SP Ryan Thompson Franklin Pierce 6-3 190 So. Calgary, Alb.
RP Sammy Rivas St. Mary's (Texas) 6-2 175 Sr. San Antonio, Texas
Second Team: Catcher: Brandon Choate, Southern Arkansas; 1B Nick DiBiasse, Central Missouri; 2B Josh Dawson, Cameron; SS Brandon Brewer, West Florida; 3B Logan Williams, Southern Arkansas; OF Kenny Held, Cameron; OF Matt Johnson, Arkansas Tech; OF Travis Taijeron, Cal Poly Pomona; DH/UT Brandon Gipson, Benedict; SP: Kirk Jewasko, Incarnate Word; SP: Daniel Vargas-Villa, West Florida; SP Corey Witkowski, Barry; RP Shane Waller, West Florida.
Third Team: C Michael Wiseman, Wayne State (Mich.); 1B Rober Kelly, Saint Anselm; 2B Garrett Yatch, Grand Valley State; SS Mike August, Millersville; 3B Jordan Smith, St. Cloud State; OF Andrew Durden, Nova Southeastern; OF Cody Grice, Grand Valley State; OF Dillon Hazlett, Emporia State; DH/UT Nathan Minnich, Shepherd; SP Jeremy Gigliotti, East Stroudsburg; SP Blake Schwartz, Minnesota State; SP Tim Shibuya, UC San Diego; RP Josh Pond, Cal State San Bernardino.
Honorable Mention: C: Mike Godwin, Wilmington (Dela.); Kyle Wager, Colorado State-Pueblo. 1B Andrew Haake, Nebraska Kearney; Brian Yeung, Wingate. 2B, Minnesota State; Carlos Leyva, Cal State Dominquez Hills. SS: Deryk Marks, Augustana (S.D.); Bret Schwartz, Central Missouri. 3B: Tom Deangelis, Seton Hill (Pa.); Jacob Rogers, Mount Olive. OF: Nate Baumann, Augustana (S.D.); Mike Bisenius, Wayne State (Neb.); David Fox, Metro State; Matt Howard, Slippery Rock; Omar Velasquez, Adelphi. DH/UT: Will Calhoun, Abilene Christian; Derek Ingui, Franklin Pierce; Jon Shoutta, Regis. SP: Chuck Fontana, Molloy; Ajay Meyer, Ashland; Don Sandifer, Francis Marion; Kyle Schepel, Grand Valley State; Randy Sturgill, California (Pa.). RP: Braxton Lewis, UNC Pembroke; Mitch Rossi, New Haven.

Founded in 1962, the NCBWA is dedicated to the advancement of college baseball. Membership is open to writers, broadcasters and publicists of the sport. For more information about the NCBWA, visit the association's official Web site, www.ncbwa.com.