May 31, 2002
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame senior centerfielder Steve Stanley (Upper Arlington, Ohio) has been named a first team All-American by Collegiate Baseball magazine. Stanley – one of three outfielders named to the elite 17-player team – becomes just the third Notre Dame baseball player ever to earn All-America honors in multiple seasons, joining former teammate and current New York Mets pitching prospect Aaron Heilman (’98-’01) and former ND catcher Elmer Kohorst (’56-’57) in that distinction.
Stanley – whose 2001 honors included second team All-America from USA Today Baseball Weekly and third team from Baseball America – also joins Kohorst, Heilman and two other former centerfielders, Dan Peltier (’89) and Eric Danapilis (’93), as the only Irish players ever to earn first team All-America recognition.
The first individual ever to repeat as the BIG EAST Conference baseball player of the year , Stanley entered Friday’s NCAA matchup versus Ohio State with the nation’s seventh-best season batting average (.442). The Irish leadoff batter also had struck out just eight times in 276 total plate appearances, with 35 walks, 31 stolen bases, 67 runs scored, 31 RBI, 15 doubles, three triples, a home run – and just one error (countered by many dazzling plays in the field).
The other two outfielders named to the first team included Santa Clara’s Joey Gomez and Michigan State’s Bob Malek (the Big Ten player of the Year). Four other conference players of the year were named to the first team: Nebraska catcher Jed Morris (Big 12), Gonzaga 1B Nate Gold (West Coast Conference), Southern University 2B Richie Weeks (Southwestern) and Clemson SS Khalil Greene (Atlantic Coast), who also earned player of the year honors from CB.
All six of the starting pitchers named to the first team were pitchers of the year in their respective conferences: Texas LHP Justin Simmons (Big 12), Stanford RHP Jeremy Guthrie (Pac-10), Ball State RHP Bryan Bullington (Mid-American), Wichita State RHP John Tetuan (Missouri Valley), Houston RHP Brad Sullivan (Conference USA) and Richmond RHP Tim Stauffer (Atlantic 10).
The other four members of the first team included Wake Forest relief ace Dave Bush, Florida State 3B Ryan Barthelemy, New Mexico State DH Gabe Veloz and North Carolina utility player Chris Maples.
CB’s complete All-America tams can be viewed via the below PDF link.
Collegiate Baseball All-Americans in PDF Format
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