Collins Earns Freshman of the Year Honors
DURHAM, N.C. — University of Miami slugger Zack Collins became the sixth player in program history to be named National Freshman of the Year by Baseball America, the publication announcedMonday.
The honor is another in a growing list for Collins, who was named 2014 Freshman Hitter of the Year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers’ Association (NCBWA) earlier in June. Collins was also named 2014 ACC Freshman of the Year, and pulled in Freshman All-America honors from both NCBWA and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
With the selection came his third Freshman All-America recognition and a spot on Baseball America‘s first team. Fellow freshman Bryan Garcia also pulled in first-team honors, as Miami became one of just two schools with multiple first-teamers.
“It’s a huge honor to win this award,” Collins said. “I would like to thank my family, friends, teammates, coaches and everyone who has supported me throughout my life. They’ve done everything they possibly can to make not only a better baseball player but also a better man.”
Collins, who was named to the 2014 All-ACC third team, helped power Miami to its first 40-win campaign since 2010 this past spring. The Pembroke Pines, Fla., native batted .298 with team-high totals of 11 home runs and 54 RBI. He reached base at a .427 clip – the best mark of any Hurricane – and slugged .556, which was the second-best mark of any player in the ACC.
His 11 home runs were tied for the most in the ACC, his 54 RBI ranked second and his 114 total bases tied for fourth-most. In conference play, where Miami captured its second-ever ACC Regular Season Championship, Collins was particularly impressive; he ranked seventh in batting average (.320), second in home runs (five), second in RBI (28), seventh in total bases (57), eighth in on-base percentage (.415) and third in slugging percentage (.553).
Collins is the first Hurricane to win the award since Chris Hernandez in 2008. Past Hurricane winners include Alex Fernandez (1989), Pat Burrell (1996), Kevin Howard (2000) and Ryan Braun (2003).
Collins, who was selected to try out for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team this summer, is batting .429 with two home runs and four RBI through USA’s first five games.
To read the full release from Baseball America, click HERE.
