Conference

RICHARDSON, Texas –– The University of Texas at Dallas senior third baseman Cody Ross and Sul Ross State University junior shortstop Javier Arrieta earned player of the year honors, while University of Texas at Tyler senior right-hander Brett Holland, Hardin-Simmons University senior right-hander Kyle Barton and Concordia Texas University junior right-hander Michael Johnson earned pitcher of the year accolades to highlight the 2009 American Southwest Conference baseball awards, following a division-only vote by head coaches, the conference office announced on Wednesday (May 6).

Ross (Austin, TX / Wharton JC) was named East Division Player of the Year after winning the division batting title with a .439 average. He led the league with 87 hits, 21 doubles and 159 total bases. His 64 runs scored tied an ASC-high. Ross also hit 15 home runs and collected 67 RBIs.

Arrieta (El Paso, TX (Mt. View HS) earned the title of West Division Player of the Year after batting .461 with 17 home runs, 15 doubles and 51 RBIs. He led the league with a .921 slugging percentage. His home runs total and 140 total bases were top marks in the West. Arrieta was also 15-for-17 on stolen bases.

Holland (Lindale, TX (LHS) was named East Division Pitcher of the Year after going 9-4 with a division-low ERA of 2.46 and recording an ASC-high 112 strikeouts. He recorded one save and logged 84 innings of work, helping the Patriots to their first ASC title.

Johnson (Bellaire, TX (Northeast Christian) and Barton (Seymour, TX / SHS) shared the honor of West Division Pitcher of the Year. Johnson went 7-2 with a 2.38 ERA and recorded a division-high 109 strikeouts over 68 innings. He also hurled an ASC-high seven complete games. Barton went 9-1 with five saves and recorded 79 strikeouts over 63 innings. He also tied the league-high by picking off four base runners.

All five were first team selections in their respective divisions.

Other East Division award winners were Mississippi College junior right-hander Tyler Seaman (Pascagoula, MC / Jones County JC), who was named newcomer of the year after going 5-3 and tossing two no-hitters. LeTourneau outfielder Nick Mihalco (Spring, TX / Klein Collins HS) was named freshman of the year after batting .328 with 14 doubles. Texas-Dallas’ Jake Eisman (Highland Village, TX / FM Marcus HS) and Texas-Tyler’s Kendall Fox (Carrollton, TX / Creekview HS) – both senior outfielders – shared the title of East Division Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year. Mississippi College’s Brian Owens, Tim Kendrick and Jake Bell guided the Choctaws to a share of the division title and took home coaching staff of the year honors.

Other West Division award winners were Texas Lutheran third baseman/right-handed pitcher Jeremy Macklin (Austin, TX / Huston-Tillotson), who shared top newcomer honors with CTX’s Johnson. Macklin went 6-1 with a league-low 1.99 ERA on the mound and batted .456 with a division-high 67 RBIs. TLU right-hander Brad Orosey (Houston, TX / Cypress Creek HS) was named freshman of the year after going 10-1 – which tied for the most victories in the ASC – and logging a league-high 92 innings. Hardin-Simmons sophomore left-handed pitcher Sam Walker (Abilene TX / AHS) was voted West Division Sportsmanship Athlete of the Year. Hardin-Simmons and Texas Lutheran shared the coaching staff of the year award. HSU earned the right to host a first-round series of the ASC tournament and was guided by Steve Coleman, Brad Holcomb, Ben Burum, Brad Coleman and Blake Koch, while TLU claimed the division crown and was led by Greg Burnett, B.J. Griffith, Brian Wallace, Ryan Hindt and Fla Strawn.

[Note: ASC baseball awards are given only at the division level.]

(Listed in order of voting point totals; #, & indicates tie in voting at that position)

ALL-EAST DIVISION SECOND TEAM

ALL-EAST DIVISION HONORABLE MENTION

(Listed in order of voting point totals; #, & indicates tie in voting at that position)

ALL-WEST DIVISION FIRST TEAM

ALL-WEST DIVISION SECOND TEAM

ALL-WEST DIVISION HONORABLE MENTION