KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced the 2016 Baseball All-America Teams as selected by the NAIA-Baseball Coaches Association All-America Committee. National Player of the Year Manny DeLeon of Tabor (Kan.) headlines the group of 34 individuals named to the first and second team. An additional 34 student-athletes received honorable mention recognition.
Two Bruins were honored in the NAIA's end of the year program. Junior right-hander Ben McKendall (Los Angeles, Calif.) was tabbed a second team All-American and junior catcher Jake Browne (West Richland, Wash.) won the Gold Glove for catchers.
The first and second teams are also recognized as ABCA/Rawlings All-Americans by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings Sporting Goods. The ABCA began recognizing All-Americans in 1949 and named the first ABCA NAIA All-America team in 1969.
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in conjunction with the American Baseball Coaches Association has announced the 2016 ABCA/Rawlings NAIA Baseball Gold Glove Team, as selected by the NAIA-Baseball Coaches Association All-America Committee. For the 10th season, nine players were chosen based upon their defensive success.
McKendall was previously honored by the North Star Athletic Association at the conference's Pitcher of the Year and a member of the all-conference First Team. McKendall had an outstanding debut campaign for the Bruins racking up a 12-2 record, 2.17 ERA, and 122 strikeouts in 116.1 innings of work. He led the team in wins, ERA, strikeouts, innings pitched, complete games (6), and shutouts (3). He compiled a WHIP of 1.006 and averaged 9.44 strikeouts per game. He tallied five double figure strikeout games and went at least seven innings in 12 of his 16 starts and at least five innings in every start.
Browne was previously recognized as the NSAA's Gold Glove catcher and was a second team all-conference pick for his efforts on the diamond. Bellevue's only previous Gold Glove came in 2009 when winner Brett Chamberlain - also a catcher - took home the hardware. Browne caught in 59 of Bellevue's 66 games on the season and committed just three errors in nearly 500 innings behind the dish. In 489 total chances he posted a .994 fielding percentage to lead the team among qualifiers. He caught 27.8 percent of would-be base-stealers (20-of-72) and helped direct the pitching staff to a 3.64 ERA. Browne was also strong at the plate with a .338/.411/.449 slash line, 12 extra base hits, 41 RBI, and 16 runs scored on the season.
Bellevue just wrapped up their most successful season since 1997, picking up a third place finish at the Avista-NAIA World Series. The Bruins posted a 54-12 overall mark (20-3 North Star) en route to claiming the league's regular-season and tournament championships ahead of winning the Davenport Opening Round Bracket. The 54 victories are tied for the third most in program history and are the most under current head coach Duane Monlux.
