University of Connecticut Athletics
Six Huskies Earn All-Conference Honors
5/20/2019 3:07:00 PM | Baseball
CLEARWATER, Fla. - The American Athletic Conference announced its All-Conference teams and major award winners on Monday afternoon ahead of The American Conference Championship. The Huskies secured six All-Conference performers with three on the first team and three landing on the second team.
Juniors Mason Feole (SP), Anthony Prato (SS) and Jake Wallace (RP) all captured All-Conference first team honors with Wallace being a unanimous choice by the American Conference coaches. Christian Fedko (DH), Mike Woodworth (2B) and John Toppa (OF) earned second team status.
UConn closer Jake Wallace is putting together a remarkable campaign with 14 saves that ranks first in the conference and third nationally. The fire baller has only allowed three earned runs in 34.2 innings (0.78 ERA) and has posted just seven walks to 52 strikeouts. In 25 appearances, opponents are hitting .151 with just 18 hits.
Preseason American Conference Pitcher of the Year Mason Feole gets first team recognition after missing the first few weeks with injury and working his way back to full strength to begin conference play in mid-March. The left-hander has come on strong down the stretch, working six innings or more in his last three starts (2-0) and racking up double-digit strikeouts in two of those starts.
The Wakefield, R.I. native is closing in on the UConn all-time strikeouts record set by Tim Cate with 270 punch outs. Feole sits at 267 entering the conference tournament and is also just one win shy of 20 for his career. Only six pitchers have logged 20 wins in their time in Storrs.
Anthony Prato has put forth a stellar career at UConn and finally is recognized as the best shortstop in the conference. The Staten Island native is hitting .310 on the season with 63 hits including 15 doubles, two home runs and driven in 28 runs. In his UConn career, Prato 211 hits and 455 stolen bases in 169 games. Prato has thrived in the conference tournament by going 10-19 (.526) and 12-18 (.667) at the plate en route to All-Tournament team selections in each of his trips to Clearwater.
Christian Fedko claimed second team All-Conference status after being named American Rookie Position Player of the Year last season. The sophomore leads the Huskies with 39 RBIs this season and ranks first in the conference with 44 walks. The older Fedko brother is hitting .260 with 15 doubles and three home runs on the season.
Mike Woodworth gains All-Conference recognition while leading the UConn offense and defense for the majority of the season. While playing both center field and second base, Woody has made countless game-saving and game-altering catches to lead UConn to 33 wins so far in 2019. At the dish, Woodworth leads the Huskies with 52 runs, 69 hits and is tied for the team lead with five home runs and 13 stolen bases.
Our senior captain John Toppa grabs All-Conference honors with one of his best seasons in Storrs. The outfielder has been a consistent presence in the UConn order and is leading the squad with a .327 average. The Portsmouth, R.I. native has started in every game the past two seasons and leads UConn with 227 career hits, ranking in the top-10 in UConn history. Toppa is sixth at UConn with 206 games and counting.
The No. 4 seeded Huskies kick off The American Conference Championship on Tuesday, May 21 at 9 a.m. against No. 5 seeded Houston. The game will be streamed on The American Digital Network and can be heard on 97.9 ESPN Hartford and iHeartradio.com with Mike Crispino on the call or on 91.7 FM WHUS with Chris Jones.
2019 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE BASEBALL AWARDS
Player of the Year – Kody Hoese, 3B, Tulane
Pitcher of the Year – Jake Agnos, LHP, ECU
Newcomer Position Player of the Year – Hunter Goodman, OF, Memphis
Newcomer Pitcher of the Year – Devon Roedahl, RHP, Houston
Coach of the Year – Cliff Godwin, ECU
ALL-CONFERENCE
FIRST TEAM
P - Mason Feole1, UConn, Jr.
P - Jake Agnos, ECU, Jr.
P - Jake Kuchmaner, ECU, So.
P - Clay Aguilar, Houston, So.
RP - Jacob Wallace, UConn, Jr.*
C - Jake Washer, ECU, R-Jr.
1B - Joe Genord2, USF, Sr.
2B - Matthew Mika2, UCF, Sr.
SS - Anthony Prato2, UConn, Jr.
3B - Kody Hoese, Tulane, Jr.
OF - Alec Burleson, ECU, So.
OF - Bryant Packard1, ECU, Jr.*
OF - Hunter Goodman, Memphis, Fr.
DH - Spencer Brickhouse1, ECU, Jr.
UTY -Luke Ritter1, Wichita State, Sr.
SECOND TEAM
P - Grant Schuermann, UCF, R-Sr.
P - Devon Roedahl, Houston, Jr.
P - Chris Durham, Memphis, R-Jr.
P - Kaleb Roper, Tulane, R-Sr.
RP - Fred Villarreal, Houston, Jr.
C - Frankie Niemann, Tulane, So.
1B - Spencer Brickhouse1, ECU, Jr.
1B - Joe Davis2, Houston, Sr.
2B - Michael Woodworth, UConn, Sr.
SS - Turner Brown, ECU, Sr.
3B - Jared Triolo, Houston, Jr.
OF - Ray Alejo2, UCF, R-Jr.
OF - John Toppa, UConn, Sr.
OF - Hudson Haskin, Tulane, Fr.
DH - Christian Fedko, UConn, So.
UTY - Alec Burleson, ECU, So.
