2011 VirginiaPreps AAA All-State Baseball Team!
VirginiaPreps.com proudly presents its 2011 Group AAA All-State Baseball Team. As we explained yesterday with the All-Underclass Team, here's a bit of insight into the process. First, each member of the
VirginiaPreps staff comprising the "selection committee" takes into account all available
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relevant information. This includes individual statistics, the various all-region and all-state
teams, and so on. We invite nominations from coaches, as well as inviting the public to
chime in.
The net result of our deliberative process is the team you see below. We hold ourselves to a
very strict format-no shortcuts. We have one player at each of the eight normal field
positions, one DH, two pitchers, and one utility man.
As always, there are very difficult calls to be made. The toughest this year was at
shortstop, where there were at least four or five players who were All-State caliber. This
included Central Region Player of the Year Nick Christopher, who hit .507 with 10 home runs
and 34 RBI as well as being a top-flight pitcher. Casey Jones of James River, Battlefield
junior Derek Evans, and Chad Carroll of Oakton (33 stolen bases!) each offered comparable
resumes. We wound up putting Christopher at DH, which, as was the case last year, is the only contrivance we allow ourselves: To insert a great hitter from another position in the DH slot if necessary.
Other difficult omissions included Mitch Moynihan of Kellam, a junior who was Co-Player of the Year in the Eastern Region, and John Williams of Battlefield, who made the coaches' All-State squad.
All of those players received special recognition as honorable mention picks. Keep in mind
that our honorable mention selections aren't a "third team." We have no second team. This
is a group of guys who have had fantastic seasons, but just barely missed first team
because of positional issues. All of them deserve this special recognition, which basically
says, "These guys are all-state caliber."
Here's the 2011 edition of the VirginiaPreps.com All-AAA Baseball team:
Catcher: Mike Perez (South County), Senior - Perez makes his second appearance on
our All-State team after another stellar season. He hit .459 with 7 home runs and 30 RBI in
helping the Stallions to a regional title and state runner-up finish.
First Base: John McGillicuddy (W. T. Woodson), Senior - McGillicuddy hit .435 with 4
homers and 19 RBI for the Cavaliers, making both All-Northern Region and the coaches' All-State team.
Second Base: Hunter Higgerson (Great Bridge), Senior - A member of the state AAA
champion Great Bridge squad, Higgerson hit .455 with 34 RBI and took home district,
regional, and all-state honors as a slick-fielding second baseman.
Third Base: Bryan DiRosario (Hayfield), Senior - Slamming a whopping total of fourteen
home runs this season, Bryan DiRosario also hit .438 and drove in 39 runs, an impressive
total in its own right.
Shortstop: Justin Lee (Great Bridge), Senior - The other half of the Wildcats' double-play combination was just as good, hitting .500 with 35 RBI and 11 stolen bases to edge out
several other worthy contenders for the all-state shortstop spot.
Outfield: Jake Cave (Kecoughtan), Senior - The Eastern Region Co-Player of the Year
was an outstanding pitcher as well, but his performance at the plate was jaw-dropping: A
.594 batting average for the season with an on-base percentage of .725.
Outfield: Reed Garrett (Mills Godwin), Senior - Garrett was named Colonial District Player of the Year and made the Coaches' All-State team after hitting .440 with .573 slugging and 19 stolen bases (as well as being a terrific pitcher).
Outfield: Christian Hamlett (Cosby), Senior - Hamlett hit .507 with 7 home runs, 34
runs scored, 23 RBI, and 11 stolen bases as a key part of Dominion District champ Cosby's
19-3 season in 2011.
Designated Hitter: Nick Christopher (Dinwiddie), Senior - Christopher won regional Player of the Year and made All-Region at short after an amazing season that included a .507 average, 10 home runs, 35 runs scored, and 34 RBI.
Pitcher: Sean Kennedy (North Stafford), Junior - Kennedy earned the Northwest
Region Player of the Year award after winning seven times and striking out 121 batters in 72
innings, while walking just 18 and finishing with a 1.80 ERA. We also named him All-Underclass yesterday.
Pitcher: Josh Sborz (McLean), Junior - Sborz won Northern Region Pitcher of the Year,
going 7-1 with a save and a minuscule 0.75 ERA. Sborz also struck out 86 hitters in just
46.2 innings of work. Like Kennedy, Sborz made our All-Underclass team.
Utility: Kenny Towns (Lake Braddock), Senior - Towns took home Northern Region
Player of the Year honors largely for his hitting (see below), but also went 6-0 as a pitcher
for the Bruins.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Kenny Towns (Lake Braddock) - Towns put together one of the
better all-around seasons in recent memory up in NOVA this year. He ability at the plate
was no secret coming into 2011, and he most certainly lived up to all expectations. Towns
hit .544 with 6 home runs and 24 RBI. He also had an amazing season slugging percentage
of 1.108. In addition to hit hitting exploits, Towns went 6-0 with a 1.77 ERA, striking out 47
batters in 35.2 innings. With Towns as the centerpiece, the Bruins went 21-6 this year,
advancing to the state tournament before falling to eventual AAA champion Great Bridge 5-4 in extra innings.
COACH OF THE YEAR: Mark Luther (South County) - In a story familiar to fans who
followed Woodbridge last season, South County rolled into the state title game with a
perfect record. However, the Stallions fell 5-3 to Great Bridge to finish at 28-1. Great
Bridge coach Wiley Lee did a superb job in winning his second state title, but Mark Luther
gets the nod here for winning twenty-eight in a row. The Stallions collected those wins in
impressive fashion, and against some stiff competition: South County defeated W. T.
Woodson twice and Lake Braddock four times en route to the state tournament. The
Stallions also defeated several out-of-state teams in the Mingo Bay Classic, going 5-0 there
while outscoring teams from South Carolina, New York, and West Virginia 66-10. Making it
all the more special for Luther and South County was the fact that this group of seniors was
the first to complete the entire seventh-through-twelfth-grade circuit at South County. For
the remarkable level of success he and his team accomplished, Coach Luther takes the COY
honor for 2011.
Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order):
Jake Barnes (Annandale), DH, Senior.
Luke Bondurant (South County), 3B, Senior.
Jordan Boze (Lee-Davis), Utility, Senior.
Chad Carroll (Oakton), SS, Senior.
Derek Evans (Battlefield), SS, Junior.
Bryce Harman (L. C. Bird), DH, Sophomore.
Casey Jones (James River), SS, Senior.
Matt Lees (Mills Godwin), Pitcher, Senior.
Tyler Long (Halifax), OF, Senior.
Luke Lowery (Cosby), Catcher, Junior.
Brett Mays (Woodside), Pitcher, Senior.
Shawn Morimando (Ocean Lakes), Utility, Senior.
Mitch Moynihan (Kellam), Pitcher, Junior.
Nick Thompson (Western Branch), Utility, Senior.
John Williams (Battlefield), 3B, Senior.
Luke Willis (Oakton), OF, Senior.
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