NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The awards keep flowing in for the Irish following their best season in almost 20 years. Senior first baseman Niko Kavadas picked up another first team All-America honor by D1Baseball Monday morning while sophomore reliever Tanner Kohlhepp earned third team All-America honors. The Irish were one of nine teams to have multiple All-Americans honors.
Kavadas broke the single season record for home runs with 22 on the season, surpassing Frank Jacobs record of 20 back in 1991. The 22 home runs ranks third nationally and he leads the NCAA in home runs per game (0.47). He broke Jacobs’ record during the South Bend Regional when he hit five home runs in three games on the way to earning the Most Outstanding Player of the regional.
He currently sits at 66 home runs for his career which is tied for second all-time with Brant Ust. Kavadas also ranks second all-time for single season slugging percentage as he finished the 2021 season with a .767 mark.
Kohlhepp was the do-it-all reliever for the Irish as he led the team in appearances (23) while finishing second on the team in wins (7), innings pitched (61.1) and strikeouts (65). Kohlhepp had high marks in the ACC as he was third in the conference in opponent batting average with .195 and ranked fifth in ERA with 3.08. Kohlhepp was one of three Irish pitchers to finish in the Top-10 in ERA among qualified pitchers in the ACC.
This is Kohlhepp’s first All-American honor of his collegiate career. This year, he was a first team All-ACC honoree with Kavadas. Kohlhepp was also named to the first team All-Region by the ABCA.
This is the fifth All-America honor for Kavadas this season and the sixth total for his career. He was a preseason All-American by Baseball America (Third Team) and Perfect Game (Second Team) heading into the 2021 season. Kavadas earned first team All-American honors from Baseball America and Perfect Game following the season. Kavadas was also named a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Award for his play this season.
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