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College  | Story  | 7/13/2012

PG College Freshman All-Americans

Kendall Rogers     
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Many freshmen often make immediate impacts in college baseball during their inaugural campaigns. But perhaps no one in the past couple of seasons has made quite the impact North Carolina State left-handed pitcher Carlos Rodon made in his first season with the Wolfpack.

Rodon was outstanding from the start as a freshman in 2012, and he established himself as not only one of the nation's best freshmen -- but also one of the best overall pitchers, perhaps even the best in the eyes of some.

Rodon put together incredible numbers this past season, and for that and more, he headlines the crop of Perfect Game Freshman All-Americans, while also being our PG Freshman of the Year.

The lefty tallied incredible numbers. He made 16 starts (17 appearances), went 9-0, and had a 1.57 ERA in 114 2/3 innings of work. He also struck out 135 and walked 41, while teams hit him at just a .176 clip. He also allowed just two homers the entire season.

Plenty of other freshmen also made immediate impacts. For instance, Oregon State outfielder Michael Conforto, who's spending his summer with USA Baseball, established himself as one of the nation's premier power hitters this past season, while Florida State's Brandon Leibrandt and Mike Compton formulated a great pitching duo, and UCLA's David Berg made 50 appearances for the Bruins.

Here's our talented group of Freshman All-Americans:


PERFECT GAME Freshman ALL-AMERICA TEAMS
FIRST TEAM All-AMERICANS


POSITION PLAYERS

C Chase Griffin, Georgia Southern 

-- Griffin couldn't have been much better as a freshman, hitting an impressive .320 with 10 doubles, a triple, 10 homers and 42 RBIs. He also had a .404 OBP, .533 slugging percentage and .937 OPS.
1B Sam Travis, Indiana 
-- Travis appears to be the next great player for the Hoosiers. He had an outstanding campaign, hitting .319 with 17 doubles, nine homers and 50 RBIs. He also slugged .509 and had a .906 OPS.            
2B Casey Turgeon, Florida
-- In addition to being one of the game's elite defensive infielders, Turgeon also was respectable at the plate, hitting .281 with 11 doubles, three triples, four homers and 30 RBIs.             
SS Andrew Daniel, San Diego
-- Daniel had a very impressive inaugural campaign for the Toreros, hitting .339 with 18 doubles, two triples, four homers and 45 RBIs. He also slugged .487 and had a .394 OBP.             
3B Trea Turner, North Carolina State
-- Turner stepped in and did a tremendous job in his first season with the program. He batted .336 with 13 doubles, two triples, five homers and 43 RBIs. He also had a .432 OBP and .891 OPS.            
OF Michael Conforto, Oregon State
-- He blossomed as one of the nation's elite power hitters, batting .349 with 14 doubles, a triple, 13 homers and 76 RBIs. Also had a .436 OBP, .601 slugging percentage and a 1.038 OPS.            
OF Austin Cousino, Kentucky
-- Was an instant impact in the SEC this season, hitting .319 with 20 doubles, two triples, nine homers and 41 RBIs. He also had a .408 OBP, .515 slugging percentage and .923 OPS.            
OF Derek Fisher, Virginia
-- A very impressive athlete, Fisher had a solid first season with the Cavaliers. He batted .288 with 11 doubles, eight triples, seven homers and 50 RBIs. He also slugged .507.             
DH Alex Blandino, Stanford
-- Blandino didn't make a huge impact at the start of the season, but did as the year progressed, hitting .294 with nine doubles, a triple, eight homers and 40 RBIs. He also had a .523 OBP.            
UT A.J. Reed, Kentucky
-- Reed was a major impact player both offensively and on the mound. He batted .300 with nine doubles, four homers and 43 RBIs. Meanwhile, pitching-wise, he was 5-3 with a 2.52 ERA in 53 2/3 IP. Also struck out 51, walked nine.            


PITCHERS

SP Carlos Rodon, North Carolina State
-- Easily one of the nation's top four pitchers as a freshman, Rodon went 9-0 with a 1.57 ERA in 114 2/3 innings of work. He also struck out 135, walked 41 and limited teams to a .176 average.
SP Brandon Leibrandt, Florida State
-- A talented left-hander with a fastball in the mid-to-upper 80s, Leibrandt excelled as the Seminoles' ace with a 2.82 ERA in 99 IP. He also struck out 83, walked 29 and limited teams to a .243 average.
SP Aaron Nola, Louisiana State
-- Nola only got better as the season progressed, touching 94-95 by the end of the season. He went 7-4 with a 3.61 ERA in 89 2/3 innings. He also struck out 89, walked just seven and teams hit .251 against him.
SP Preston Morrison, Texas Christian
-- Amazingly, a walk-on for the Horned Frogs, Morrison had a fabulous year, going 9-2 with a 2.08 ERA in 112 2/3 innings. He struck out 72, walked 12 and limited teams to a .216 batting average.
RP David Berg, UCLA
-- Also an outstanding walk-on, Berg made an amazing 50 appearances for the Bruins, going 5-3 with a 1.46 ERA in 74 innings of work. He also struck out 63, walked 17 and limited teams to a .165 average.
RP Jonathan Holder, Mississippi State
-- Holder was a dominant arm for the Bulldogs this season, recording nine saves in 24 appearances and tallying an outstanding 0.32 ERA in 28 1/3 innings. Had a fastball that topped out at 91-92.
SECOND TEAM ALL-AMERICANS


POSITION PLAYERS

C Mark Zagunis, Virginia Tech

-- Zagunis had a very solid offensive campaign in his first season, hitting .344 with 13 doubles, two triples, five homers and 34 RBIs. He also finished the season with an impressive .430 OBP.
1B Kevin Cron, Texas Christian
-- Wasn't healthy the entire season, but still had a very productive campaign. He batted .338 with seven doubles, six homers and 34 RBIs. He also had a .503 slugging percentage for the Frogs, integral down the stretch.
2B Pat Kelly, Nebraska
-- Kelly was productive for the Huskers this past season, hitting .313 with six doubles, two triples, eight homers and 37 RBIs. He also had a .521 slugging percentage.
SS Cole Peragine, Stony Brook
-- Peragine was a key cog in Stony Brook's run to the CWS. He batted .304 with 11 doubles, six triple and 39 RBIs. He also walked 21 times and struck out on 21 occasions. He had a .386 OBP.
3B Jose Trevino, Oral Roberts
-- Trevino established himself as one of college baseball's elite power hitters, batting .317 with 18 doubles, three triples, 13 homers and 57 RBIs. He also had a .573 slugging percentage.
OF Ryan Padilla, New Mexico
-- Padilla was one of several talented hitters for the Lobos. He batted .353 with 19 doubles, two triples, five homers and 49 RBIs. He also had a .430 OBP and slugged .525.
OF Matt Honchel, Miami (Ohio)
-- Honchel was very consistent for Miami this past season. He batted an outstanding .395 with seven doubles, two triples and 26 RBIs. He also walked 15 times, only striking out on 13 occasions. He had a .443 OBP.
OF Rhys Hoskins, Sacramento State
-- Hoskins had a really solid campaign for the Hornets. He batted .353 with 16 doubles, 10 homers and 53 RBIs. He also had a .411 OBP and a solid .567 slugging percentage.
DH Alex Close, Liberty
-- Close had a big-time offensive showing for the Flames in 2012. He batted .304 with eight doubles, two triples, 14 homers and 47 RBIs. He also slugged .565 for Jim Toman's club.
UT Greg Mahle, UC Santa Barbara
-- Mahle was a true dual-threat player for the Gauchos. He batted .347 with six doubles and 35 RBIs and a .411 OBP. Meanwhile, on the mound, he made 21 appearances and had a 3.88 ERA in 46 1/3 innings pitched.


PITCHERS

SP Mike Compton, Florida State
-- Much like Leibrandt, Compton blossomed as a freshman this season. He went 12-2 with a 2.87 ERA in 91 IP. He also struck out 64, walked 28 and limited teams to a .260 batting average.
SP Benton Moss, North Carolina
-- Moss was one of several premier arms for the Tar Heels this past season. He went 7-2 with a 1.94 ERA in 79 innings of work. He struck out 83, walked 23 and limited teams to a .218 average.
SP Jake Reed, Oregon
-- Really stepped up as a starting pitcher after Christian Jones went down with a season-ending injury. Was 8-4 with a 2.92 ERA in 114 innings of work. Struck out 67, walked 42 and limited teams to a .230 average.
SP Jace Fry, Oregon State
-- To no surprise, Fry put together an impressive first season. He went 5-3 with a 2.45 ERA in 88 1/3 innings of work. He also struck out 53, walked 35 and limited teams to a .215 average.
RP Tommy Thorpe, Oregon
-- He combined with Jimmie Sherfy to put together quite the bullpen duo. Made 35 appearances and had a 2.11 ERA in 42 2/3 innings of work. Also struck out 48, walked 20, limited teams to a 176 average.
RP Tyler Burgess, Missouri State
-- Burgess was one of many talented arms on Missouri State's staff this past season. Made 26 appearances and had a 2.08 ERA in 39 innings. He also struck out 31, walked 17 and limited teams to a .166 average.