CCA Tags David Lebron as All-American
Senior receives second All-American award this season
MARSHALL, Minn. - University of Tampa pitcher David Lebron picked up his second All-American award this season as he was named second-team All-American by the Conference Commissioners Association (CCA).
Lebron, a senior from Homestead, Fla., was previously selected as a first-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association of America (NCBWA). He turned in a dominant campaign as he finished the season with a 10-0 record to go with a 2.24 ERA. In 96.1 innings, the righty registered 139 strikeouts. This marks the second straight season where he was named the South Region Pitcher of the Year. He also becomes a two-time All-American. He concludes his two-year Spartan career with a record of 17-1. He struck out 242 hitters with a 2.45 ERA. He ranks 10th on UT's all-time strikeout list and is third among two-year players.
Junior pitcher Josiah Gray from Le Moyne College (N.Y.) and senior first baseman Zack Shannon from Delta State University (Miss.), headline the 2018 NCAA Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-America baseball team, earning the Ron Lenz Pitcher and Player of the Year awards respectively. A total of 48 student-athletes were named to either the first, second or third team All-America squad, while 16 were named honorable mention.
The CCA All-America and All-Region baseball teams, which are selected by CoSIDA members from schools playing Division II baseball, were first established in 2007. This is the third year in which the program is solely sponsored by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association.
Gray, a native of New Rochelle, New York, finished the season with a record of 11-0 in 13 starts, while compiling an ERA of 1.25, ranking third in Division II. Gray, who helped lead Le Moyne to the NCAA Tournament this season, finished the year recording 105 strikeouts in 93 1/3 innings with just 20 walks and held opponents to a .192 batting average. As of May 22, he ranks fifth nationally in victories, seventh in WHIP (0.89), 13th in hits per nine innings and 26th in strikeouts.
Shannon, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, is the first student-athlete to earn the Player of the Year award in back-to-back seasons since the program was created in 2007. Shannon helped lead DSU to the NCAA Tournament this season, while belting a school record 31 home runs and recording a school record 93 RBIs. He closed the season batting .406 with 72 runs scored, while collecting 14 doubles, two triples and 193 total bases. He earned 35 bases on balls and was hit by a pitch 11 times. As of May 22, he ranks first in the country in numerous categories, including home runs, RBI, slugging percentage (.955) and total bases (193).
Joining Gray and Shannon on the CCA All-America first team include Mikey Gangwish (C, Colorado School of Mines), Kyle Marsh (2B, Embry-Riddle), Patrick Dorrian (SS, Lynn), Trey Jacobs (3B, UNC Pembroke), Blake Adams (OF, Tarleton State), Zander Clarke (OF, UC San Diego ), Drake McNamara (OF, Southern Indiana), Nick Stokowski (DH, Illinois Springfield), Christian Hamel (UT non-pitcher, Shepherd), Andrew Bash (UT pitcher, California Baptist), Joe Ryan (SP, Stanislaus State), Gus Varland (SP, Concordia-St. Paul), Chris Vallimont (SP, Mercyhurst) and J.T. Hintzen (RP, Florida Southern).
The Division II Conference Commissioners Association encourages and promotes Division II athletics and high standards of sportsmanship as important elements of higher education. The CCA is a key communications link among the conferences as they discuss views, policies and regulations that impact Division II intercollegiate athletics and works closely with the NCAA as a communications channel to NCAA Division II member colleges and universities.
The online nomination and voting processes are provided by Presto Sports.