– University of Evansville junior Kyle Freeland was named a first team All-American by Baseball America, as announced by the publication Wednesday morning. Freeland is the first Purple Ace to earn All-America status by Baseball America since Andy Benes in 1988 and is the first Evansville player to earn multiple All-America honors since current assistant coach Cody Fick in 2011.
Freeland, who was named to the Louisville Slugger All-America Third Team and a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award earlier this season, finished the 2014 season with a 10-2 record and 1.90 ERA to earn Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year honors and All-MVC First Team recognition. The Denver, Colo., native racked up 128 strikeouts on the season to rank second in the UE record books and accumulated a career 3.55 ERA and 282 strikeouts over his three-year career to rank second and fourth on Evansville’s all-time lists, respectively.
Freeland was selected by the Colorado Rockies with the eighth overall pick in last week’s Major League Baseball First-Year Player draft and finished a perfect 6-0 in Valley play with a 1.34 ERA, 68 strikeouts and only five walks.
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