ABCA Names Fox First Team All-Central Region
6/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 15, 2014
JONESBORO, Ark. - The postseason honors continue for Rice sophomore pitcher Blake Fox. On Sunday (June 15) the Owl left-hander was named first team All-Central Region by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA).
Fox is one of four pitchers to earn first team honors from the ABCA Central Region, which includes all Division I schools in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. As a first team all-region honoree, he now has a chance to earn ABCA All-America honors. Since its inaugural list of honorees in 1950, the annual ABCA All-America team is one of the first of its kind to recognize elite collegiate players with outstanding individual seasons.
In the ABCA's regional voting, Fox garnered the most points (230) received by any pitcher. He had the second-highest overall point total behind Louisiana-Lafayette's Jace Conrad (300).
Fox emerged as the staff ace for the Owls while posting an undefeated 12-0 record with a 1.46 ERA. He is fifth in the nation (and led Conference USA) in victories, and is 13th among all Division I pitchers (and second in the league) in ERA. The Houston native won 12 of his 15 starts, of which four the Owls went on to win with a shutout. In addition to non-conference wins over national powers Stanford and TCU, Fox posted an 8-0 mark in C-USA regular season. Quality starts were the norm as he pitched into the seventh inning of a game 14 times. Fox held opposing hitters to a composite .236 batting average and twice struck out eight in a single game.
Earlier this month he was named one of three finalists for the National College Baseball Hall of Fame's Pitcher of the Year Award. The Houston native from nearby Episcopal High School has already been named a 2014 first team all-America by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers (NCBWA), and a second team All-America selection by Collegiate Baseball. He is the first Owl pitcher to win 12 games in a single year since 2006, but this season is only part of the story. Fox is in fact a perfect 18-0 with a 1.97 ERA in his collegiate career dating back to his freshman season of 2013.
The ABCA is scheduled to name its 2014 All-America team at the end of June.
2014 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I
Central All-Region Teams
FIRST TEAM
Position First Last Year School State
SP Blake Fox So. Rice Texas
SP Andro Cutura Jr. Southeastern La. Louisiana
SP Mike Franco Jr. FIU Florida
RP Chase Wellbrock Sr. Houston Texas
C Anthony Azar Sr. Sam Houston State Texas
1B Casey Grayson Sr. Houston Texas
2B Jace Conrad Jr. Louisiana Louisiana
3B Brandon Tierney Sr. TAMCC Texas
SS Blake Trahan So. Louisiana Louisiana
DH Matt Shortall Sr. UT-Arlington Texas
OF Caleb Adams Jr. Louisiana Louisiana
OF Doug Votolato Sr. Central Arkansas Arkansas
OF Andrew Godbold Jr. Southeastern La. Louisiana
Second Team
Position First Last Year School State
SP Zac Curtis Sr. Middle Tennessee Tennessee
SP Austin Robichaux Jr. Louisiana Louisiana
SP Carson Baranik Jr. Louisiana Louisiana
RP Tyler Ford Sr. Houston Texas
C Aramis Garcia Jr. FIU Florida
1B Tent Miller Sr. Middle Tennessee Tennessee
2B Julio Nunez Jr. Alabama A&M Alabama
3B Ryan Leonards Sr. Louisiana Louisiana
SS Sam Bumpers Sr. Lamar Texas
DH Waldyvan Estrada Jr. Alabama State Alabama
OF Ryan Bottger Jr. UT-Arlington Texas
OF Andrew Utterback Jr. Alabama A&M Alabama
OF Seth Harrison Jr. Louisiana Louisiana
