BRONX, N.Y. — George Washington junior shortstop Nate Fassnacht was named Atlantic 10 Conference Baseball Player of the Year, while Fordham sophomore right-handed pitcher John Stankiewicz was selected as the league’s Pitcher of the Year. George Washington freshman utility player Noah Levin and La Salle freshman catcher Tatem Levins were voted A-10 Co-Rookies of the Year. VCU skipper Shawn Stiffler was named Coach of the Year.
The awards, along with the All-Conference, All-Rookie and All-Academic Teams, were announced Tuesday to kick off the 2019 A-10 Baseball Championship at Fordham University’s Houlihan Park.
Stiffler, in his seventh year, led VCU to a 39-17 overall record and an A-10 regular season title with a 19-5 record in conference play. It’s the first Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year honor for Stiffler.
Fassnacht was the A-10 leader in runs (59), and RBI (60) and was second in hits (88), doubles (23), and slugging percentage (.652). A native of Ephrata, Pa., he ranks sixth nationally in doubles and is amongst the top 25 in the NCAA for doubles per game, hits, hits per game and total bases.
Stankiewicz was named Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week three times this season and was among the NCAA leaders in ERA (second – 1.20), WHIP (sixth - 0.84), and strikeout-to-walk ratio (seventh – 7.46). The Cherry Hill, N.J. native finished with 97 strikeouts to rank second in the A-10, registering a 7-3 record in 15 appearances.
Levin was second among A-10 second basemen in total RBI, and led A-10 second basemen in RBI per game. A Tarzana, Calif., native, he ranked 10th among all positions in the A-10 in RBI. He hit .305 in 45 games with 43 RBI and 29 runs scored.
Levins was fifth in the league in doubles (17), tied for sixth in RBI (50) tied for seventh in home runs (9) and eighth in slugging percentage. A Langhorne, Pa. product, Levins batted .321 with 35 runs scored and a pair of stolen bases.
The 12-member All-Conference First Team, the 13-player All-Conference Second Team and the 12-member All-Rookie Team were selected by a vote of the 13 Atlantic 10 head coaches. The 12-member All-Academic team was chosen by the league’s baseball communications directors.
The 2019 Atlantic 10 Championship begins Wednesday at 10:00 am ET with four games and concludes Saturday with the league’s championship finals. Every game of the championship will be streamed on ESPN+. The winner of the double-elimination tournament receives the Atlantic 10’s bid to the NCAA Regionals.