WILMINGTON, NC -- The Colonial Athletic Association honored five members of the University of Delaware baseball team at its annual awards banquet on Tuesday evening on the campus of UNC Wilmington.

Senior leftfielder Bryan Hagerich was named to the CAA first team, while sophomore infielder Alex Buchholz, senior starting pitcher Billy Harris and junior closer David Slovak earned second-team honors. In addition, head coach Jim Sherman (at right- top) was named CAA Coach of the Year.

Sherman, in his seventh season as head coach of the Blue Hens, earned conference coach of the year honors for the first time. He guided the Blue Hens’ remarkable transformation from a 2-10 start to a team that finished the regular season 23-6 for an overall record of 29-21, including 18-10 in CAA play. The Hens finished in a four-way tie for first place and have earned the second seed in the tournament based on head-to-head tiebreakers.

“It’s an honor to recieve the coach of the year award, but we recognize that this is not an individual award, but that it is surely a team award,” said Sherman in accepting the honor at Tuesday’s banquet. “We ended up where we thought we would near the top of the pack, and this shows how our senior leadership really started to shine through in the second half of the season.”

Hagerich (Somerset, PA/Somerset) hit .328 with 16 home runs and 50 RBI for the Hens during the regular season. He led the Blue Hens with a .355 average in CAA play, where he posted eight home runs and 26 RBI. The co-captain is now tied with Sherman for second place on the Delaware career home run list with 46, and he ranks in the top-10 in program history in at-bats (4th, 759), RBI (7th, 170) and games played (4th, 214). He tied a school record earlier this season with three consecutive multiple-home run games, and has established a new program record for sacrifice flies in a career with 16. After earning CAA weekly honors at least once all four years, this is the first CAA post-season award for Hagerich.

Buchholz (Millersville, MD/Old Mill) was named CAA Rookie of the Year and to the CAA first team in 2006 and had an even better year in 2007. He led the Blue Hens with a .391 batting average, 55 RBI, 84 hits, .665 slugging percentage, .436 on-base percentage and leads the nation in doubles with 25. Buchholz also ranks second on the Blue Hens with eight home runs. Last week he was awarded Delaware’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player award and the Pape Lukk Team MVP award.

Harris (Bear, DE/Salesianum) grabbed ahold of the top spot in the Delaware rotation after bouncing around a variety of roles in his first three seasons. The senior posted a perfect 6-0 record in CAA games in 2007, including a 3.59 ERA and struck out 72 in 62.2 innings. Overall, Harris (at right- bottom) has a 6-1 record with a 4.01 ERA and ranks among conference and national leaders with 81 strikeouts. The lefty established a new program record with his 73rd career appearance in the Hens’ 6-1 victory over James Madison this past Thursday. Delaware’s 2007 Pitcher of the Year, this is the first CAA post-season award for Harris.

Slovak (Louisville, KY/Shelton State CC) solidified the back end of the Delaware bullpen in his first season after transferring from junior college. The submarine righthander set new Delaware single-season records with 31 appearances and 11 saves. Slovak posted a 2-3 record with 11 saves and a 2.58 ERA in 45.1 innings. He held opposing hitters to a .209 batting average, the lowest mark for a Delaware pitcher since Steve Franzini held opposing hitters to a .200 average in 1996.

William & Mary third baseman Greg Sexton and James Madison outfielder Kellen Kulbacki were named CAA Co-Players of the Year, Hofstra third baseman Matt Prokopowicz was named Rookie of the Year, and VCU shortstop Sergio Miranda was named Defensive Player of the Year.

The No. 2 seeded Blue Hens will take on No. 5 George Mason University in their first game of the 2007 CAA Championship Tournament on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. at Brooks Field on the campus of UNC Wilmington.

AGATE:

1st team All-Colonial Athletic Association: C - Jason Bour (George Mason); 1B - Jared Bolden (VCU); 2B - Chris Fournier (George Mason); SS - Sergio Miranda (VCU); 3B - Greg Sexton (Wm. & Mary); OF - Kellen Kulbacki (James Madison), Scott Krieger (George Mason), Bryan Hagerich (Delaware); DH - Luke Jordan (Georgia State); Utility - Tim Park (William & Mary); SP - Anthony Shawler (Old Dominion), Dan Hudson (Old Dominion); RP - Luke Pisker (VCU).

2nd team All-Colonial Athletic Association: C - Jonathan Batts (UNC Wilmington); 1B - Charlie Pelt (Georgia State); 2B - Brent McWhorter (Wm. & Mary); SS - Alex Buchholz (Delaware); 3B - Matt Prokopowicz (Hofstra); OF - Mike Zahm (Old Dominion), Eric Suttle (Georgia State), Mike Tamsin (Northeastern), Kyle Shellcock (Towson); DH - Lee Bujakowski (James Madison); Utility - Chris Henderson (George Mason); SP - Billy Harris (Delaware), J.J. Pannell (George Mason); RP - David Slovak (Delaware), Jordan Flasher (George Mason).

Colonial Athletic Association All-Rookie Team: 1B - Justin Bour (George Mason), Steve Caseres (James Madison); 2B - Richard Gonzalez (VCU); 3B - Matt Browning (James Madison), Jake McAloose (Old Dominion), Matt Prokopowicz (Hofstra); IF - Dan Palumbo (George Mason); OF - Chris Henderson (George Mason); P - Daniel Cropper (UNC Wilmington), Ryan Quigley (Northeastern).

CAA Player of Year: Kellen Kulbacki (James Madison) & Greg Sexton (Wm. & Mary
CAA Rookie of the Year: Matt Prokopowicz (Hofstra)
CAA Defensive Player of the Year: Sergio Miranda (VCU)
Coach of the Year: Jim Sherman (Delaware)

- DDD -