MCLEAN, Va., June 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- USA TODAY High School Sports today unveiled the 2014 American Family Insurance ALL-USA High School Baseball Team, highlighting the best high school players from across the county during the 2013-2014 school year.
Pitcher Brady Aiken of Cathedral High School in San Diego has been selected as the national player of the year. The left-hander, taken with the number one pick in Major League Baseball's amateur draft by the Houston Astros earlier this month, compiled a 7-0 record and a 1.06 earned-run average while walking only 15 batters in 59.2 innings as a senior.
Jamie Corr of Lambert High School in Suwanee, Ga., has been named national coach of the year. Corr not only coached his team to a 36-2 record, but also led them to the No.1 spot in the Super 25 baseball rankings and a state AAAAA title in the school's sixth year of existence.
The full American Family Insurance ALL-USA first and second teams appear in today's print edition of USA TODAY, and are also available online at usatodayhss.com. The USA TODAY High School Sports ALL-USA Teams and year-end player and coach of the year awards have been given out annually since 1983, and are considered the highest such honors in high school baseball.
Joining Aiken on the first team is right-handed pitcher Tyler Kolek of Shepherd (Texas), the second selection (by the Miami Marlins) behind Aiken in MLB's amateur draft. The 6-5 senior went 5-2 this season while posting just a 0.35 earned-run average, also racking up 126 strikeouts in 60.1 innings with only eight walks.
They are joined by:
- Chase Vallot, a catcher from St. Thomas More (Lafayette, La.), who hit.545 with 13 homers, and 62 RBI while leading his team to the state 4A title.
- First baseman Gavin LaValley of Midwest City (Okla.), who hit .477 with 19 homers and 75 RBI while leading his team to its third straight 5A state championship.
- Third baseman Michael Chavis of Sprayberry in Marietta, Ga., who hit .573 with 13 homers and 39 RBI, including four homers in his team's final two games of the season.
- Nick Gordon of Olympia in Orlando, Fla., the fifth pick in the MLB amateur draft by the Minnesota Twins, who hit .494 with a .576 on base-percentage with five homers, two triples and 10 doubles in 27 games. The shortstop/pitcher is the brother of Dodgers second baseman Dee Gordon and the son of former major league pitcher Tom "Flash" Gordon.
- Outfielder Clay Casey of DeSoto Central in Southaven, Miss., an Ole Miss commit who hit .511 with 14 homers and 47 RBI.
- Alex Verdugo of Sahauro (Tucson, Ariz.), a lefty outfielder and pitcher who hit .532 this season with three home runs and 32 RBI. As a pitcher in his junior season, Verdugo went 10-0 with a 1.29 ERA.
- Junior shortstop and pitcher Jared Mang of Los Alamos (N.M.), the lone underclassman on the ALL-USA first team, hit .605 with 44 RBI and a slugging percentage of .926. As a pitcher, he compiled an 8-2 record with a 1.01 ERA.
- Catcher-outfielder Alex Jackson of Rancho Bernardo in San Diego, who hit .400 with 11 homers, four triples, seven doubles and 31 RBI in 100 at bats this season and finished his career with 47 home runs. Jackson, the sixth overall pick in the MLB amateur draft by Seattle, never missed a game in four seasons of varsity baseball.
Following is the complete listing of this year's American Family Insurance ALL-USA High School Boys Baseball first and second teams, as determined by USA TODAY High School Sports. For more information on the American Family Insurance ALL-USA Team, visit usatodayhss.com.
2014 American Family Insurance
ALL-USA High School Baseball Team
Player of the Year: Brady Aiken, Cathedral High School, San Diego, Calif.
Coach of the Year: Jamie Corr, Lambert High School, Suwanee, Ga.
ALL-USA First Team
Player |
School |
Position |
Height |
Weight |
College Selection/MLB team |
Brady Aiken |
Cathedral Catholic, San Diego, Calif. |
LHP |
6-4 |
210 |
UCLA/Astros |
Tyler Kolek |
Shepherd, Texas |
RHP |
6-5 |
255 |
TCU/Marlins |
Chase Vallot |
St. Thomas More, Lafeyette, La. |
C |
6-0 |
210 |
Miss. State/Royals |
Gavin LaValley |
Carl Albert, Midwest City, Okla. |
INF |
6-3 |
220 |
Oklahoma/Reds |
Michael Chavis |
Sprayberry, Marietta, Ga. |
INF |
5-11 |
180 |
Clemson/Red Sox |
Nick Gordon |
Olympia, Orlando, Fla. |
INF |
6-2 |
170 |
Florida State/Twins |
Clay Casey |
DeSoto Central, Southhaven, Miss. |
OF |
6-3 |
204 |
Ole Miss |
Alex Verdugo |
Sahuaro, Tucson, Ariz. |
OF-P |
6-1 |
200 |
Ariz. St./Dodgers |
Jared Mang |
Los Alamos, N.M. |
INF-P |
5-9 |
195 |
N/A |
Alex Jackson |
Rancho Bernardo, San Diego, Calif. |
C-OF |
6-2 |
215 |
Oregon/Mariners |
ALL-USA Second Team
Player |
School |
Position |
Height |
Weight |
Jack Flaherty |
Harvard-Westlake, Studio City, Calif. |
RHP-3B |
6-3 |
217 |
Sean Reid-Foley |
Sandalwood, Jacksonville, Fla. |
RHP |
6-4 |
208 |
Jakson Reetz |
Norris, Firth, Neb. |
C-RHP |
6-1 |
195 |
Ti'Quan Forbes |
Columbia, Miss. |
SS |
6-4 |
175 |
Jacob Gatewood |
Clovis, Calif. |
SS-3B |
6-5 |
190 |
Milton Ramos |
American Heritage, Plantation, Fla. |
SS |
6-2 |
165 |
Anthony Brocato |
Rutgers Prep, Somerset, N.J. |
OF |
5-11 |
175 |
Braxton Davidson |
T.C. Roberson, Asheville, N.C. |
OF-1B |
6-3 |
215 |
Derek Hill |
Elk Grove, Calif. |
OF |
6-1 |
185 |
Marcus Wilson |
Serra, Gardena, Calif. |
OF |
6-2 |
205 |
About American Family Insurance
Based in Madison, Wis., American Family Insurance offers auto insurance, homeowners insurance, life insurance, health insurance, business and farm/ranch insurance in 19 states. American Family insurance is the nation's third-largest mutual property/casualty insurance company and ranks 382nd on the Fortune 500 list. Web: www.amfam.com; Facebook: www.facebook.com/amfam; Twitter: www.twitter.com/amfam; YouTube: www.youtube.com/amfam
About the USA TODAY Sports Media Group
The USA TODAY Sports Media Group encompasses all sports initiatives across USA TODAY Sports and Gannett's more than 120 well-known local media brands. It also includes the sports photography wire service USA TODAY Sports Images; leading high school sports destination USA TODAY High School Sports; Sports On Earth, a joint venture with MLB Advanced Media dedicated to great sports writing in all its forms; the social news hub For The Win, and the hundreds of sites within USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties such as TheBigLead.com and mixed martial arts site MMAJunkie.com, among others. USA TODAY is owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI).
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