2018 NAIA Baseball All-Americans Announced
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The NAIA has announced the 2018 Baseball All-America teams as selected by the NAIA-Baseball Coaches’ Association All-America Committee. Kiki Menendez of Texas Wesleyan and Jonathan Bermudez of Southeastern (Fla.) headline the honorees as the National Player of the Year and National Pitcher of the Year.
The first and second teams are also recognized as ABCA/Rawlings All-Americans by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings Sporting Goods. The ABCA began recognizing All-Americans in 1949 and named the first ABCA NAIA All-America team in 1969.
Menendez, who was also named the Sooner Athletic Conference Player of the Year, had one of the most prolific offensive seasons in Texas Wesleyan history in 2018. The Austin, Texas, native led the NAIA with 26 home runs, while also ranking among the top three in batting average (.466) and slugging percentage (.995) – all three are single-season program records. Menendez ranked first in the NAIA in total bases (190), while owning the No. 2 spot nationally in RBI (84).
Bermudez (15-2) won an NAIA-best 15 games to lead Southeastern to the club’s first-ever NAIA Baseball World Series title. The junior also ranked among the top five nationally in innings pitched (110.2) and opponent batting average (.178). Bermudez threw six-or-more innings in 13-of-16 starts, including two complete games. He ended the season with 153 strikeouts.
2018 NAIA Baseball All-America Teams
| FIRST TEAM |
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| Position |
Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
| SP |
Jonathan Bermudez |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
Jr. |
Coamo, P.R. |
| SP |
Stephen Chamblee |
Bryan (Tenn.) |
Jr. |
Tampa, Fla. |
| SP |
Shawn Dubin |
Georgetown (Ky.) |
Sr. |
Allegany, N.Y. |
| SP |
Orlando Rodriguez |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
Jr. |
Havana, Cuba |
| RP |
DJ Wilson |
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
Sr. |
Bend, Ore. |
| C |
Lane Milligan |
Oklahoma City |
Sr. |
Binger, Okla. |
| C |
Elih Marrero |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
Jr. |
Miami, Fla. |
| 1B |
Andrew Warner |
Columbia (Mo.) |
Sr. |
Lee's Summit, Mo. |
| 2B |
Augie Isaacson |
Friends (Kan.) |
Jr. |
New Prague, Minn. |
| 3B |
Gregg Veneklasen |
Wayland Baptist (Texas) |
Sr. |
Canyon, Texas |
| SS |
Randy Perez |
Central Methodist (Mo.) |
Sr. |
Bronx, N.Y. |
| UTIL |
Walter Coursey |
Georgia Gwinnett |
Fr. |
Sugar Hill, Ga. |
| DH |
Josh Sears |
Freed Hardeman (Tenn.) |
Fr. |
Huntsville, Ala. |
| OF |
Kiki Menendez |
Texas Wesleyan |
Sr. |
Austin, Texas |
| OF |
Fernando Garcia |
Bryan (Tenn.) |
Sr. |
Kissimmee, Fla. |
| OF |
Nelson Mompierre |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
Sr. |
Miami, Fla. |
| OF |
Rayden Sierra |
Cumberland (Tenn.) |
Sr. |
Andres Boca Chica, D.R. |
|
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| SECOND TEAM |
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|
|
| Position |
Name |
School |
Year |
Hometown |
| SP |
Kyle Fulton |
Central Methodist (Mo.) |
Jr. |
Monroe City, Mo. |
| SP |
Tyson Campbell |
Lyon (Ark.) |
Jr. |
Kennett, Mo. |
| SP |
Tyson Cronin |
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
Jr. |
Lakewood, Wash. |
| SP |
Matt Patton |
Taylor (Ind.) |
Sr. |
Wolcottville, Ind. |
| RP |
Jacob Hulcher |
University of Northwestern Ohio |
Jr. |
Montgomery, Ala. |
| C |
Dylan Shockley |
Rio Grande (Ohio) |
So. |
Minford, Ohio |
| C |
Tighe Koehring |
Indiana Tech |
Sr. |
South Elgin, Ill. |
| 1B |
Glen McClain |
Indiana Tech |
Jr. |
Fremont, Ind. |
| 2B |
Jackie Urbaez |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
Jr. |
Miami, Fla. |
| 3B |
Austin Sojka |
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
Jr. |
Huntington Beach, Calif. |
| SS |
Kory Longaker |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
Jr. |
Edmonds, Wash. |
| UTIL |
Matt Majher |
La Sierra (Calif.) |
Sr. |
Corona, Calif. |
| DH |
Joe Lytle |
Oklahoma City |
Sr. |
Yukon, Okla. |
| OF |
Reese Cooley |
Faulkner (Ala.) |
Sr. |
Jacksonville, Fla. |
| OF |
Dan Valerio |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
Jr. |
Tinton Falls, N.J. |
| OF |
Tyler Sroczynski |
Trinity Christian (Ill.) |
Sr. |
Dyer, Ind. |
| OF |
Austen Swift |
William Jessup (Calif.) |
Jr. |
Toronto, Ontario |
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| HONORABLE MENTION |
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|
|
| Position |
Name |
School |
|
|
| SP |
Clayton Rabiej |
Antelope Valley (Calif.) |
|
|
| INF |
Tyler Pittmon |
Antelope Valley (Calif.) |
|
|
| SP |
Ivan Torres |
Benedictine (Ariz.) |
|
|
| OF |
Wade Wineburger |
Bryan (Tenn.) |
|
|
| SP |
Ben Madison |
Central Baptist (Ark.) |
|
|
| DH |
Logan Haring |
Central Methodist (Mo.) |
|
|
| SP |
Nick Little |
Concordia (Neb.) |
|
|
| SP |
Hunter Peck |
Georgia Gwinnett |
|
|
| DH |
Marcus McCorkle |
Georgia Gwinnett |
|
|
| SP |
Renton Poole |
IU Kokomo (Ind.) |
|
|
| SP |
Chase Thometz |
Jamestown (N.D.) |
|
|
| SP |
Dan Gerke |
Judson (Ill.) |
|
|
| OF |
Raymond Pedrina |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
|
|
| SP |
Tyler Burch |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
|
|
| OF |
Logan Constantine |
LSU Alexandria (La.) |
|
|
| SP |
Renny Tolentino |
LSU Shreveport (La.) |
|
|
| 3B |
Cody Earl |
Marian (Ind.) |
|
|
| SP |
Mason Swegarden |
Mayville State (N.D.) |
|
|
| SP |
Keisy Portorreal |
Mid-America Christian (Okla.) |
|
|
| OF |
Zach Cornell |
Middle Georgia State |
|
|
| INF |
Trenton Nash |
Middle Georgia State |
|
|
| 3B |
Blake Jackson |
Middle Georgia State |
|
|
| SP |
Braxton Rhodes |
Mobile (Ala.) |
|
|
| 1B |
Christian Snow |
Mobile (Ala.) |
|
|
| 3B |
Nate DeChaine |
Morningside (Iowa) |
|
|
| INF |
Garrett Foster |
Oklahoma City |
|
|
| SP |
Kyle Fimbrez |
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
|
|
| SP |
Jordan Scott |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
|
|
| SS |
Abdiel Alicea |
Tabor (Kan.) |
|
|
| SS |
Kyle Kolb |
Trinity Christian (Ill.) |
|
|
| SP |
Olivier Mailloux |
University of Northwestern Ohio |
|
|
| SP |
Jordan Dreibelbis |
Vangaurd (Calif.) |
|
|
| 2B |
Michael Stefanic |
Westmont (Calif.) |
|
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| OF |
Christian Smith |
William Carey (Miss.) |