Players of the Year
Derek Mechling - Duquesne
Senior, Catcher, Homer City, Pa.
Homer Center HS
Mechling put up an impressive .979 fielding percentage from behind the plate and led his third-seeded Dukes in home runs (12), runs scored (63) and slugging percentage (.603)...finished tied for first in the Conference in runs scored, fifth in the league in home runs and sixth in slugging percentage...set a school record with a 17-game hitting streak and also tied individual game school records when he hit three home runs, drove in seven RBI and scored five times in a win over La Salle...ranks second all-time at Duquesne with 24 career home runs and joined Taylor on the watch list for the Johnny Bench Award.
Chris Taylor - Charlotte
Senior, Catcher, Mt. Pleasant, N.C.
Mt. Pleasant HS
Taylor led the A-10 in home runs (19) and total bases (159), finished second in RBI (70), third in runs scored (61) and third in hits (84)...his 19 homers place him in a tie for third on the school's single-season list, while his five consecutive games with a home run established a program record...a two-time Player of the Week selection, Taylor is on the watch list for the Johnny Bench Award, given to the nation's top catcher.
Pitcher of the Year
Tom Davis - Fordham
Senior, RHP, Madison, Conn.
Daniel Hand HS
Davis (9-2) led the A-10 in wins (nine) and earned run average (1.90) while registering 62 strikeouts in a career-best 90.0 innings pitched...yielded just 79 hits and 28 walks while holding opposing hitters to a .235 average...won seven games in A-10 play ends his career as the program's all-time leader in starts (50) and innings pitched (339.0).
Rookie of the Year
Corey Shaylor - Charlotte
Freshman, Second base, Charlotte, N.C.
Independence HS
Shaylor enjoyed an impressive rookie campaign for Charlotte...finished second on the team and third in the A-10 with a .366 batting average...named the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week for the week of Mar. 31 and over the course of the season had only 18 strikeouts in 183 total at-bats while his on-base percentage (.440) is third-highest on the squad.
Student-Athlete of the Year
Randy Moley - St. Bonaventure
Senior, OF, Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster HS
Moley led the league in batting (.404) and on-base percentage (.494), tied for third in hits (84) and runs scored (61), was third in steals (32) and tied for third in RBI (56)...finished his career as the only player in program history to finish with over 200 hits, 125 runs scored, 100 RBI and 50 stolen bases...in the classroom, Moley boasts a 3.95 grade point average as a management sciences major and is a three-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District first-team selection.
Coach of the Year
Scott Googins - Xavier
Third season
Googins guided Xavier to a program-best 19 wins in Conference play...led the Musketeers (27-31) to the top seed in the A-10 Championship and a runner-up finish in the tourney...ranked in the top five in the league in earned run average (5.30), with nine of their 27 wins this season coming by one run...holds a career record of 75-99 in three years at Xavier.