July 14, 2011
COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina junior pitcher Michael Roth garnered National Player of the Year honors from CollegeBaseballInsider.com, the outlet released today. Redshirt sophomore Matt Price joined Roth on the outlet’s All-America first team, while senior hurler John Taylor made the second team. Sophomore first baseman Christian Walker earned an honorable mention.
Roth went 14-3 in 2011, posting a 1.06 ERA in 145 innings of work. The junior, in his first full year as a starting pitcher, struck out 112 batters and walked 41 to help lead the Gamecocks to their second-consecutive NCAA Division I national championship. Roth also tallied a 1.17 ERA in Southeastern Conference play, the lowest of any starter in the league. His 14 wins tie for fifth most by a Gamecock in a single season. It’s Roth’s second first-team All-America nod this offseason, as he made Baseball America’s first team, while the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) selected Roth for its second team. Roth was a third-team selection by Louisville Slugger.
Price anchored the bullpen for the SEC and NCAA champs, going 7-3 with 20 saves, tied for second most in Gamecock history, in 59 innings of work. Appearing in 36 games, Price fanned 75 and walked 20 on the year to post a 1.83 ERA. Price garnered second-team honors from the NCBWA and third-team recognition from Baseball America.
Taylor earns his first postseason honor this year, as the senior went 8-1 in 50 relief appearances, a new school record. Compiling a 1.14 ERA, Taylor struck out 63 and walked 28. He finished fourth on the staff with his 71.1 innings of work. Taylor also led the staff in opponent batting average, holding foes to a .185 mark.
Walker led the Gamecocks with a .358 batting average, 10 home runs and 62 runs batted in, also topping the squad with 64 runs, 21 doubles and a .554 slugging percentage. In 271 at bats, he walked 36 times and fanned just 30. His .438 on-base percentage ranked second, just behind senior Scott Wingo. Walker picked up second-team accolades from Baseball America already.
The four Gamecocks on the lists matched Vanderbilt and Virginia for top honors among teams. The Cavaliers’ Danny Hultzen and Branden Kline join Roth and Price as the only teammates as first-team All-Americans.
CollegeBaseballInsider.com All-America Teams
First Team
C Jake Lowery, James Madison
1B C.J. Cron, Utah
2B Tommy La Stella, Coastal Carolina
SS Joe Panik, St. John’s
3B Matt Leeds, College of Charleston
OF Mikie Mahtook, LSU
OF Tyler Naquin, Texas A&M
OF George Springer, Connecticut
DH Victor Roache, Georgia Southern
UTIL Danny Hultzen, Virginia
SP Trevor Bauer, UCLA
SP Sam Gaviglio, Oregon State
SP Sean Gilmartin, Florida State
SP Greg Gonzalez, Fresno State
SP Taylor Jungmann, Texas
SP Michael Roth, South Carolina
RP Branden Kline, Virginia
RP Corey Knebel, Texas
RP Matt Price, South Carolina
Second Team
C Mike Zunino, Florida
1B Adam Brett Walker, Jacksonville
2B Ross Heffley, Western Carolina
SS David Herbek, James Madison
3B Jacob Tanis, Mercer
OF Daniel Aldrich, College of Charleston
OF Jason Krizan, Dallas Baptist
OF Bryson Myles, Stephen F. Austin
DH Anthony Rendon, Rice
UTIL Nick Ramirez, Cal State Fullerton
UTIL Bo Reeder, ETSU
SP Matt Barnes, Connecticut
SP Jonas Dufek, Creighton
SP Sonny Gray, Vanderbilt
SP Tyler Ray, Troy
SP Will Roberts, Virginia
SP Nick Tropeano, Stony Brook
RP James Allen, Kansas State
RP Michael Schum, Wright State
RP John Taylor, South Carolina
Honorable Mention
C A.J. Miller, Lafayette
C Chris O’Brien, Wichita State
C Nick Rickles, Stetson
1B Jeff Holm, Michigan State
1B Zach Johnson, Oklahoma State
1B Christian Walker, South Carolina
1B Aaron Westlake, Vanderbilt
1B Brad Zebedis, Presbyterian
2B Scott Davis, Delaware State
2B Dan Paolini, Siena
2B Tony Renda, California
2B Ryan Terry, Monmouth
2B Kolten Wong, Hawaii
SS Adam Bryant, Troy
SS Bo Cuthbertson, Southern Utah
SS Brad Miller, Clemson
SS Chad Zurcher, Memphis
3B Jason Esposito, Vanderbilt
3B Tyler Hannah, Troy
3B Colin Moran, North Carolina
3B Trenton Moses, Southeast Missouri
OF Trever Adams, Creighton
OF Chris Benson, Utah Valley
OF Joey DeMichele, Arizona State
OF Matt Holland, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
OF James Ramsey, Florida State
OF Dusty Robinson, Fresno State
OF Preston Tucker, Florida
DH Frazier Hall, Southern
DH D.J. Hicks, UCF
DH Trey Rallis, Yale
DH Effrey Valdez, NYIT
UTIL Cody Fick, Evansville
UTIL Marco Gonzales, Gonzaga
UTIL Tyler Pill, Cal State Fullerton
SP Andrew Chafin, Kent State
SP Grayson Garvin, Vanderbilt
SP Kyle Hallock, Kent State
SP Patrick Johnson, North Carolina
SP Mike McCarthy, Cal State Bakersfield
SP Tanner Peters, UNLV
SP Mark Pope, Georgia Tech
SP Noe Ramirez, Cal State Fullerton
SP Hudson Randall, Florida
SP Michael Rocha, Oklahoma
SP Kurt Schluter, Stetson
SP Andrew Smith, Charlotte
SP Carson Smith, Texas State
SP Ross Stripling, Texas A&M
SP Matt Summers, UC Irvine
SP Tyler Wilson, Virginia
SP Kyle Winkler, TCU
RP Lenny Linsky, Hawaii
RP Cody Martin, Gonzaga
RP Kyle McMillen, Kent State
RP John Neely, Texas Tech
RP Kevin Quackenbush, USF
RP Kevin Vance, Connecticut
