Collins Earns First-Team All-America Honors
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Junior catcher Zack Collins was among those players recognized with first-team All-America honors from Baseball America, the publication announced Tuesday.
The selection of Collins to the first team by Baseball America marks the second straight season that a Hurricane has earned first-team honors; former third baseman David Thompson earned the distinction in 2015. Collins is the 16th Hurricane in history to earn Baseball America First-Team All-America honors, and the 10th under head coach Jim Morris.
Collins, a first-team All-ACC selection for the second straight year, delivered another dominant season both hitting and behind the plate in 2016. A finalist for the Johnny Bench Award honoring the nation’s top catcher, Collins is also a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award presented by USA Baseball and the Dick Howser Trophy, honoring the nation’s top collegiate player.
Collins has batted .358 for the season with team-leading totals of 13 home runs and 53 RBI. His 69 walks are tops amongst all players nationwide, while his .534 on-base percentage and .631 slugging percentage are also team highs and rank among the ACC’s best figures.
The Pembroke Pines, Fla., native continued his ascent into the Miami record books with another prolific year, and currently ranks among the top 10 all-time in both home runs and RBI as a Hurricane. His 38 career home runs are tied with Randy Guerra (1976-79) and Manny Crespo (1998-2000) for the eighth-most in Hurricane history, while his 177 career RBI are 10th-most. Collins’ 69 walks in 2016 are tied with Fiore (1988) for the fifth-most in a single season in Miami history.
The All-America recognition is the third for Collins, who was named to the Coral Gables Regional All-Tournament Team this past weekend. Collins was a second-team All-America by Perfect Game and a third-team All-America by ABCA/Rawlings in 2015. He was a consensus Freshman All-America and Baseball America’s National Freshman of the Year in 2014.
