DURHAM, N.C. (May 26, 2010) – Kutztown University sophomore Shayne Houck was named a first-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association (NCBWA). The team was announced Wednesday afternoon.
Houck has enjoyed a year that many players would dream of. He has helped the Kutztown University baseball team win the Atlantic Region championship and advance to the NCAA Division II Baseball National Championship in Cary, N.C. Houck also rewrote the Kutztown single season record book and was ranked among the national leaders in several categories.
“To be honored as one of the top players in the country and play in the Division II World Series is pretty amazing,” Houck said. “It's nice to see that all of the hard work over the summer has been recognized. This has been a dream come true for me and my teammates. I was expecting to have a solid season to help the team, but it turned out a lot better than I expected.”
Houck was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division Athlete of the Year, and ABCA Rawlings Atlantic Region Player of the Year. Houck was named to the Daktronics All-American second team. He was also selected to the Daktronics All-Atlantic Region first team, National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association (NCBWA) All-Atlantic Region first team and earned a spot on the Atlantic-Region postseason all-tournament team.
He has posted numbers in his sophomore season that most players would dream to have in their career. He is batting .451 with 17 home runs, 73 runs scored and 77 RBIs which are all single season school records. Houck was also a semifinalist for the Tino Martinez Award, which is given to the best baseball player in the country.
Houck is ranked among the top 20 nationally in six categories. He is fourth nationally in slugging percentage, seventh in batting average, seventh in on base percentage, 13th in home runs, 14th in doubles and 17th in runs batted in. Among his many highlights this season was belting three home runs against Bloomfield, blasting a game-winning homer to beat West Chester in the regular season, recording 24 multi-hit games and winning the PSAC East Player of the Week awards five times.
“I am happy where we are as a team,” Houck said. “Personally, I am doing a lot more than I ever expected. It's definitely an honor to be recognized as one of the best in the country. I feel privileged and an honored to have an opportunity to set school records.”
Kutztown is still alive in its quest for a national championship. The Golden Bears play an elimination game Wednesday evening against Franklin Pierce beginning at 7 p.m. at the USA Baseball National Training Complex. A Golden Bear victory would advance the team to the national semifinals for the first time in program history.
