MOUNT OLIVE, N.C. – Guilford College’s Trevor Denton and Josh Shepherd earned College Division All-State baseball recognition according to the North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA). Denton and Shepherd, two of the three NCAA Division III students on either team, earned a spot on the second-team all-state unit.
The squads consist of NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA student-athletes from North Carolina colleges and universities. North Carolina sports information directors submitted nominees and NCCSIA members selected the teams for the 15th straight year.
Denton, a senior, was selected to the All-State Second Team for the second straight year. He earned a spot at the designated hitter slot after being selected as an infielder in 2017. The versatile Denton was tabbed All-ODAC second team at the utility spot after hitting 323 with eight doubles. He led the club with 40 RBI and tied for the lead in home runs (three). Denton leaves the Quakers second in career doubles-per-game (.350) and exited Guilford with the 17th bestall-time batting average (.344). He ranked second on the team among regulars with a .323 overall batting average and was seventh in the league with a team-best 40 runs batted in (RBI). Denton also cracked three home runs and eight doubles while hitting out of Guilford’s cleanup spot. He hit .296 with a homer and 16 RBI in ODAC games.
A four-year starting shortstop, Shepherd led the 2018 team with a .352 batting average and posted team-bests of 40 runs, 56 hits and 14 doubles. The senior tied for club lead with three triples and three home runs. Shepherd posted a .943 fielding percentage after starting all 41 games and collected four hits in a game on three occasions. He exits Guilford fifth in hits (139), fifth in walks (81), sixth in runs (190) and eight in doubles (34) in program history.
The duo helped coach Nick Black’s team to a 20-20-1 overall record (8-10 in the ODAC) and made its first ODAC Tournament appearance since 2012.
Guilford may return as many as 26 letter winners in 2019.