June 23, 1999
Notre Dame sophomore righthander Aaron Heilman (Logansport, Ind.) has been named a third team All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), furthering his stature as one of the most recognized baseball players in Notre Dame history.
Heilman, who currently is playing with the USA Baseball national team, earlier was named a 1999 third team All-American by Collegiate Baseball magazine (CB). He also received that honor in 1998-becoming the first freshman to earn All-America honors in Notre Dame baseball history-and this season joined Brant Ust as the second Irish sophomore ever named All-America (Ust was a third teamer in 1998, according to the ABCA and Baseball America (BA).
Heilman joins former Irish catcher Elmer Kohorst as the only Notre Dame baseball players ever to earn All-American honors in multiple seasons. Kohorst was an ABCA first-team All-American in 1956 and ’57.
Six Notre Dame players have received a combined 13 All-America honors from the ABCA, BA or CB. Heilman is one of two Irish baseball players who have been named to three All-America teams during their college career, joining outfielder Eric Danapilis in that distinction (Danapilis was a consensus first-teamer in 1993).
The other previous Notre Dame All-Americans include outfielders Dan Peltier (first team ABCA, BA in 1989) and Ryan Topham (ABCA third team in 1995).
Heilman’s memorable 1999 season included 118 strikeouts in 109 innings, besting the 41-year-old record set by Frank Carpin in 1958 (102). Heilman also posted an 11-2 record, becoming the sixth Irish pitcher and first since 1994 to win 11-plus games in a season. He allowed 89 total hits and a .217 opponent batting average, the sixth-lowest opponent batting average by an Irish pitcher since 1991. His other 1999 totals included three saves, six complete games and 37 walks.
Heilman’s 1999 season highlights included the final five innings of Notre Dame’s near-no-hitter versus No. 2- ranked Miami (a 1-0 Irish win) and a gutsy complete-game effort to beat Creighton in the NCAAs (five hits, seven Ks, 154 pitches). His 2.58 career ERA ranks fourth in Notre Dame history (second-best since 1961) and is the lowest ERA in the Irish record book by a pitcher with 150-plus innings. Heilman already ranks ninth in Notre Dame history with 196 strikeouts (in 176 innings) while his 109 innings in 1999 rank fifth on the Notre Dame single-season list.
ABCA ALL-AMERICA NOTES
- The BIG EAST Conference placed eight players on the ABCA’s list of 58 All-Americans-more than any other conference in the nation (the Pacific-10 had seven, the Southeastern Conference five and the Big 12 five) S in addition to Heilman, the BIG EAST All-Americans include first teamer Keith Reed (OF, Jr., Providence), second teamers Mike Dzurilla (3B, Jr., St. John’s) and Pete Zoccolillo (OF, Sr., Rutgers) and third teamers Marc DesRoches (RHP, Sr., Providence), Sean McGowan (1B, Sr., Boston College), Darren Fenster (SS, Jr., Rutgers) and Mike Scott (OF, redshirt Fr., Providence) S five different teams from the BIG EAST, Big 12 and Pac-10 had players named ABCA All-Americans.
- Heilman was one of 10 sophomores among the 58 ABCA All-Americans, which also included Arkansas freshman RHP Charlie Isaacson S the other sophomores included: first teamers Matt Diaz (OF, Florida State) and Daylan Holt (OF, Texas A&M), second teamer Nick Stocks (RHP, Florida State) and third teamers Jason Young (RHP, Stanford), Brian Gismonde (relief LHP, Monmouth), Mike Tonis (C, California), Taggert Bozied (1B, San Francisco), Xavier Nady (3B, California), Bill Scott (OF, UCLA) and Mike Scott (OF, Providence, redshirt freshman). Holt, Tonis Bozied, Nady and Bill Scott currently are teammates of Heilman’s on Team USA.
1999 AMERICAN BASEBALL COACHES ASSOCIATIONS ALL-AMERICANS
FIRST TEAM
LHP Todd Moser Sr. Florida Atlantic LHP Mario Ramos Jr. Rice RHP Ben Sheets Jr. Northeast Louisiana LHP Barry Zito Jr. USC Relief RHP Jake Gehrke Jr. Pepperdine Utility Jason Jennings Jr. Baylor ** player of the year ** C Josh Bard Jr. Texas Tech 1B Ken Harvey Jr. Nebraska 2B Marshall McDougall Jr. Florida State SS Willie Bloomquist Jr. Arizona State 3B Ryan Gripp Sr. Creighton DH Macky Waguespack Sr. Southeast Louisiana OF Matt Diaz So. Florida State OF Daylan Holt So. Texas A&M OF Spencer Oborn Jr. Cal State Fullerton OF Keith Reed Jr. Providence
SECOND TEAM
LHP Phil Devey Jr. Southwest Louisiana RHP Justin Fry Sr. Ohio State RHP Charlie Isaacson Fr. Arkansas RHP Brent Schoening Jr. Auburn RHP Nick Stocks So. Florida State Relief RHP Marc Bluma Sr. Wichita State Relief RHP Mike Neu Jr. Miami, Fla. Utility Mike Dwyer Sr. Richmond C Casey Dunn Sr. Auburn 1B Ben Broussard Sr. McNeese State 1B Robb Quinlan Sr. Minnesota 2B Nate Rewers Sr. Richmond SS Bobby Hill Jr. Miami, Fla. 3B Mike Dzurilla Jr. St. John's DH Jason Lane Sr. USC OF Larry Bigbie Jr. Ball State OF Matt Cepicky Jr. Southwest Missouri State OF Lamont Matthews Jr. Oklahoma State OF Steve Salargo Sr. East Carolina OF Pete Zoccolillo Sr. Rutgers
THIRD TEAM
RHP Marc DesRoches Sr. Providence RHP Aaron Heilman So. Notre Dame LHP Greg Montalbano Jr. Northeastern RHP Travis Thompson Sr. East Carolina RHP Jason Young So. Stanford Relief LHP Brian Gismonde So. Monmouth Relief RHP Alan Ochsner Sr. Southwestern Louisiana Utility Rodney Hancock Jr. Citadel C Barry Gauch Sr. Virginia Tech C Mike Tonis So. California 1B Taggert Bozied So. San Francisco 1B Sean McGowan Sr. Boston College 2B Jeremy Ridley Jr. Ball State SS Darren Fenster Jr. Rutgers SS Andy Phillips Sr. Alabama 3B John Ballon Jr. New Orleans 3B Xavier Nady So. California DH Aron Amundson Sr. Minnesota OF B.J. Barns Jr. Duquesne OF G.W. Keller Sr. Alabama OF Lyle Overbay Jr. Nevada OF Bill Scott So. UCLA OF Mike Scott Fr. Providence