ABCA Tabs Paolini Third Team All-American
Siena Sports Information
The media has spoken, and now the coaches have as well. A week after earning Third Team All-American recognition by Baseball America, former Siena star Dan Paolini was selected to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Division I All-American Third Team.
Paolini secured First Team All-Region status by the ABCA last week to earn a spot on the national ballot, and became one of just six players from the Northeast recognized on one of the three All-American teams. Only five Division I second basemen in the country were honored by the ABCA.
Last year Paolini became the first Siena student athlete in the Division I era named to be named to an All American team in any sport when Collegiate Baseball named him to its Second Team. The Collegiate Baseball and NCAA All American teams will be released later this month.
Paolini finished his junior season with a .380 career batting average and 56 home runs, both program records. It was the 56 long balls in just three seasons that earned him national recognition as one of the top power hitters in all of college baseball.
Paolini was named a Second Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball in 2010 after leading the nation with .49 home runs per game, becoming the only Siena student athlete ever to be tabbed to an All American Team at the Division I level. He was selected MAAC Rookie of the Year as a freshman, and MAAC Player of the Year as a sophomore and junior. This year, he helped the Saints reach the MAAC title game, belting 19 home runs and breaking his own single-season RBI record with 67.
Paolini was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 10th Round of the Major League Baseball draft and has since signed a contract with the franchise. He began his professional career with the Pulaski (Va.) Mariners Tuesday night, finishing 2-for-2 and reaching base in all four of his plate appearances.