Jac Caglianone named Rawlings Player of the Year
OMAHA, Neb. – Monday night Jac Caglianone will start a game for the National championship. Before that start, the Florida Gators star was honored by the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings as the Division I National Position Player of the Year.
The award marks the first Player of the Year recognition of the campaign for the nation’s home run leader. Caglianone was also named a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy, but came up short to Dylan Crews and Paul Skenes of LSU, respectively.
The ABCA/Rawlings Players of the Year are selected by ABCA coaches’ committees from nine divisions of amateur baseball: NCAA Div. I, II & III, NAIA, NJCAA Div. I, II & III, Pacific Association Division, and high school. ABCA/Rawlings First-Team All-America selections were eligible for Player of the Year honors.
Helping power the Gators to the College World Series Finals, Caglianone broke the NCAA BBCOR and program home run records with 33 long balls. Also setting a team record with 90 RBI, the Tampa, Fla. native has slashed .326/.390/.746 with 49 extra-base hits, 74 runs scored, and four stolen bases.
Even more impressively, Caglianone paces all qualified UF hurlers with a 3.68 ERA across 73 1/3 innings of work. Backed by a 7-3 record, the Southpaw owns 85 strikeouts and has held opposing hitters to a .186 batting average.
Jac Caglianone prepares for the biggest start of his life
Caglianone entered Sunday’s game against LSU batting just 2-for-17 in the CWS and had not homered in a season-high eight consecutive games. He contributed an RBI single in the third that tied the game, but he saved his best swings in the later innings. Caglianone homered in the sixth and eighth, the second homer his 33rd of the season.
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Now, Caglianone will toe the rubber on Monday night as the Gators look for the program’s second National Championship. It will be the second start for Caglianone in Omaha. He threw 4.1 innings, striking out for and allowed one run in a win over TCU that sent the Gators to the College World Series final.
More about the ABCA/Rawlings award
Founded in 1945, the American Baseball Coaches Association is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. Its over 15,000 members represent all 50 states and 40 countries. Since its initial meeting of 27 college baseball coaches in June 1945, Association membership has broadened to include nine divisions. NCAA Division I, II, and III, NAIA, NJCAA, Pacific Association Division, High School, Youth, and Travel.
