Matthes Named to Two More All-America Teams
6/12/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 12, 2009
OMAHA, Neb. - Alabama right fielder Kent Matthes picked up three more post-season honors today as the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Rivals.com named him to the 2009 All-America team.
Matthes was also named to the 2009 American Baseball Coaches All-South Region team on Friday, the ABCA announced on the eve of the College World Series.
In addition, senior right-hander Austin Hyatt and junior third baseman Jake Smith were second team selections to the 2009 ABCA All-South Region Team.
Matthes was named the 2009 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year and is a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award, presented to the college player of the year by USA Baseball. He was also a semi-finalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, presented to the college baseball player of the year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
The Orlando, Fla., native hit .358 with 28 home runs and 81 RBI for the Crimson Tide this season. He led the SEC in home runs, RBI, total bases (174) and slugging percentage (.883). He was also third in runs scored (65) and sixth in hitting this season.
Matthes set the Alabama single-season record with 28 home runs, which tied him for the national home run lead with Middle Tennessee State's Bryce Brentz. Matthes is the fifth NCAA statistical national champion in school history. He broke the UA single-season home run record with his 28th home run against South Carolina on May 20 at the SEC Tournament. He slugged his 27th home run of the season in the Tide's regular season finale at Auburn on May 16 to tie Doug Duke's single-season home run record set in 1986.
He has four multi-home run games and one walk-off home run this season. In addition, 16 of his 28 home runs have tied the game or given Alabama the lead, including 10 go-ahead home runs. He also has nine game-winning RBI.
In March, he set the Alabama record with a home run in six straight games and was twice named National and SEC Player of the Week. He hit for the cycle on Feb. 24 against Nicholls State and followed that up with a walk-off 10th inning home run the next day.
Hyatt posted an 8-3 record and 3.76 ERA en route to being named First-Team All-SEC and Third-Team All-America this season. He started 15 games and ranked among the SEC leaders in starts, innings pitched (103), ERA (3.76), wins (8), opponents batting average (.230), strikeouts (88) and fewest walks (15). He was named SEC Pitcher of the Week after leading the Tide to a win over No. 11 Arkansas on May 8.
In SEC play, the Marietta, Ga., native led the league in innings pitched (78 1/3) and starts (10) and ranked third in ERA (3.22), opponents average (.210) and fewest walks (9). He was also fourth in wins (5) and eighth in strikeouts (69).
Smith, who suffered a season-ending injury at the SEC Tournament, was having his best season with the Crimson Tide. The junior was hitting .359 with 18 home runs and 53 RBI in 49 games. He was fifth in the SEC in slugging (.728), sixth in total bases (142), eighth in home runs (18) and batting average (.359). In SEC play, he is fourth in slugging (.687), sixth in home runs (9) and eighth in doubles (9).
Smith was named to the SEC All-Defensive Team for the second year in a row after making only five errors (.955) in 112 chances at third base.
