DALLAS (NCBWA) – Texas Tech University infielder Jace Jung and Central Michigan right-hander Andrew Taylor have been named the 2021 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association National Freshman Hitter and Pitcher of the Year recipients, as announced by the organization today.

Jung, the 2021 Big 12 Player of the Year, is one of five finalists for the 34th Dick Howser Trophy and the first Red Raider to be named a finalist for the prestigious award. The infielder hit .337 and led the Big 12 with 21 home runs, 67 RBI, and a .697 slugging percentage in 2021. He added 10 doubles, scored 55 runs and posted a .462 on base percentage. In addition, he reached base safely in 55 consecutive games for the Red Raiders.

Jung helped lead Texas Tech to a 39-17 record and make their third consecutive appearance in an NCAA Super Regional in 2021. The San Antonio, Texas, resident paced Texas Tech to a 3-0 record to sweep the first round NCAA Lubbock Regional with victories over Army West Point, North Carolina and UCLA to advance to a Super Regional.

The infielder was named the NCBWA Freshman All-American first team second baseman, yesterday and shared the NCBWA District 7 (Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana) Player of the Year with Arkansas pitcher Kevin Kopps. In addition to being named the Big 12 Player of the Year, Jung was a unanimous choice to the 2021 All-Big 12 first team and earned All-Big 12 All-Academic first team honors. He also has been named to a first team All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and is a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist and a Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award finalist.

Taylor was named the Mid-American Pitcher and Freshman of the Year, after posting a 11-4 record with a 1.81 ERA in 15 starts for MAC Champion Central Michigan. The right-hander struck out 125, averaging 11.9 per nine innings, and walked 24 batters over 94.1 innings. In addition, he pitched five complete games, including two shutouts and held opponents to a .189 batting average.

Taylor played a key role in the Chippewas to their second-consecutive Mid-American Conference title and a 42-18 record. Central Michigan also reached the NCAA South Bend, Ind. Regional championship.

The Alto, Michigan native, was voted to the NCBWA Freshman All-American team, yesterday and named the NCBWA District 5 (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin) Player of the Year. Taylor also was selected to the All-MAC first team and has been named the 2021 Co-Freshman of the Year by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

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, ncbwa.com. For more information about the 2021 NCBWA Freshman All-American team, contact Ryan Bomberger (rbomberger@liberty.edu).