Four MAAC Baseball Student-Athletes Earn ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Team Honors
EDISON, NJ – Four Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) student-athletes were named to ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Teams as announced by the organization.
Canisius’ Ryan Stekl and Liam Wilson were named to the All-Region First Team, while J.P. Stevenson received Second Team recognition. Niagara’s Greg Cullen earned a spot on the First Team.
Stekl was an All-MAAC First Team honoree at utility. He hit .300 (64-213) with 10 home runs, 63 RBI, and 46 runs scored in 56 games for Canisius this season. Stekl led the MAAC in RBI, was eighth in hits, tied for fourth in homers, tied for seventh in doubles (15), tied for fourth in runs, fifth in total bases (113), fourth in walks (36), and sixth in slugging percentage (.521).
Stevenson became the third Griff to earn the MAAC Pitcher of the Year honor in 2018. He was tabbed to the All-MAAC First Team, All-Championship Team, claimed the MAAC Baseball Championship MVP, and was named a Collegiate Baseball All-American. The lefty led the MAAC in wins (10) and strikeouts (93). He ranked second in the conference in ERA (2.73). He is tied for 10
th in the nation in wins. Stevenson was named MAAC Pitcher of the Week on two occasions this season.
Wilson earned All-MAAC First Team honors at first base and was tabbed a Collegiate Baseball All-American. He hit .353 (78-221), with nine home runs, 49 RBI, and 52 runs scored this season. Wilson broke the MAAC single-season record for doubles (26) on May 24, in a win over Quinnipiac University. He ranked fourth in the MAAC in hitting, third in slugging percentage (.624), seventh in on-base percentage (.434), first in doubles (27), first in runs scored, tied for second in hits, and tied for sixth in RBI. Wilson’s 27 doubles are the third-most in the nation.
Cullen was recently selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 15
th round (442nd pick) of the 2018 MLB Draft. This past season, he became the fourth student-athlete from Niagara to claim the MAAC Player of the Year honor. Cullen was named to the All-MAAC First Team and finished the regular season as the nation’s leading hitter, posting a .458 batting average. He also ranks first in the NCAA in on-base percentage (.556) and ninth in hits per game (1.65). Cullen led the MAAC in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage (.655), and hits (81). The junior was a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Award, was named a Collegiate Baseball All-American, and earned NCBWA Postseason honors (District 2 Player of the Year & All-America Second Team).
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 37
th year of competition during the 2017-18 academic year. Current Conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.