RICHMOND, Va. – Elon University baseball head coach Mike Kennedy has been named the 2019 CAA Coach of the Year and George Kirby the Pitcher of the Year as the conference office announced its postseason honors on Tuesday afternoon, May 21. The Phoenix had a pair of All-CAA First Team selections in Kirby (starting pitcher) and Joe Satterfield (first base).
Cam Devanney (shortstop), Anthony Galason (outfield), and Jared Wetherbee (starting pitcher) were named to the second team, while Ty Adcock (outfield and relief pitcher) and Kyle Brnovich were third team selections. Additionally, Galason picked up All-Rookie Team honors. Voting for all of the awards was done by the league’s coaches.
In his 23rd season leading the Phoenix, Kennedy secured his first CAA Coach of the Year honor after coaching the maroon and gold to its first CAA regular-season title with a 19-5 record in league play. Elon won seven of eight conference series, to include four series sweeps, and went on a run of 12 consecutive CAA wins. Kennedy and the Phoenix reached 30 wins for the 17th time during his tenure. The distinction marks his fifth Coach of the Year honor and fourth during Elon’s DI era. He was selected the SoCon’s Coach of the Year in 2006, 2008, and 2009. Kennedy was also chosen as Coach of the Year in 1997 when Elon was in its final year in the South Atlantic Conference.
Kirby is the program’s first CAA Pitcher of the Year recipient after posting an 8-1 record with a 2.07 ERA, good for second in the CAA. Through 82.2 innings pitched, he held opposing batters to a .203 average while recording 105 strikeouts. The Rye, N.Y. native tossed three complete games this season and issued only six walks. He enters the CAA Championship as the national leader in strikeout-to-walk ratio (17.50) and walks allowed per nine innings (0.65). He also ranks fourth in WHIP (0.82) and ninth in complete games. He also received CAA weekly honors three times this year.
Satterfield led the Phoenix at the plate this season with a .342 clip, 66 hits, and 34 walks. In 193 at bats, the Greenville, S.C. native scored 40 times, drove in 33 runs, and hit 12 doubles, three triples, and three long balls. He also tallied 18 multi-hit games, six multi-RBI games, and reached safely in 31 consecutive games.
A product of Amherst, N.H., Devanney batted .328 with team highs in RBIs (49), runs scored (42), and extra-base hits (26). The CAA Co-Player of the Week on April 22, he has an active 20-game hit streak, the program’s longest since joining the CAA, as well as a 25-game reached base streak. Devanney turned in 19 multi-hit efforts and 17 multi-RBI outings, both team bests. He is also ranked 12th in the country with seven sacrifice flies. On defense, he owns a .972 fielding percentage with 78 putouts and 128 assists and helped turn 30 double plays.
Galason earned Rookie of the Week honors on Apri 8 and finished the regular season batting .271 with 55 hits, 40 runs, 16 doubles, one home run, and 22 RBIs. The freshman out of Colts Neck, N.J. reached safely in 32 straight games, recorded multiple hits in 14 games, and drove in multiple runs five times. In the regular-season finale versus UNCW on May 12, he hit a walkoff double as Elon defeated the Seahawks 2-1 in extra innings.
Wetherbee proved effective as Elon’s Sunday starter, going 6-4 with a 2.70 ERA and one save across 16 appearances and 10 starts. The lefty out of Fiskdale, Mass. was named the Co-Pitcher of the Week on April 29 and fanned 91 batters in 76.2 innings of work. The sophomore is currently fifth in the conference in ERA, tied for fifth in wins, is sixth in strikeouts, and seventh in opponent’s batting average (.217).
Adcock picked up third team honors as both an outfielder and a relief pitcher. The Oxford, N.C. native went .249 at the plate this season and belted a team-high 10 homers. He added 48 RBIs, 25 runs, eight doubles, two triples, and 23 bases on balls. As the team’s closer, he posted a 4-1 record with eight saves and a 2.63 ERA. He held opposing batters to a .232 average and totaled 31 punch outs in 19 appearances and 27.1 innings.
Elon’s Friday starter this season, Brnovich was 6-3 with a 3.81 ERA in 13 starts. He tallied 103 strikeouts on the season to become the program’s career strikeout leader and move into second place in the CAA record book. The junior from Milton, Ga. was named the CAA Pitcher of the Week on April 8 and tossed a season-high 13 strikeouts against Northeastern on April 26. He finished fourth in the conference in opponent’s batting average, fifth in strikeouts, tied for fifth in wins, and tied for ninth in innings pitched.
The top seed in this week’s CAA Championship, the Phoenix opens the tournament this Thursday, May 23 at 3 p.m. and will play the lowest-seeded team in the winner’s bracket following Games One and Two. James Madison is hosting at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park.
2019 CAA Player of the Year: Greg Jones, SS, UNCW
2019 CAA Pitcher of the Year: George Kirby, RHP, Elon
2019 CAA Defensive Player of the Year: Luke Manzo, SS, Charleston
2019 CAA Co-Rookies of the Year: Joseph Carpenter, 1B, Delaware
2019 CAA Coach of the Year: Mike Kennedy, Elon
First Team Second Team Third Team All-Rookie Team
C - Danny Wondrack, Charleston C - Vito Friscia, Hofstra C - Matthew Trehub, William & Mary Joseph Carpenter, 1B, Delaware
1B - Joe Satterfield, Elon 1B - Jake Farrell, Northeastern 1B - Chaz Davey, Charleston Austin Colmery, OF, Delaware
2B - Dupree Hart, Charleston 2B - Jackson Meadows, UNCW 2B - Jake Rosen, Northeastern Trevon Dabney, 3B, James Madison
SS - Greg Jones, UNCW SS - Cam Devanney, Elon SS - Scott Holzwasser, Northeastern Corey DiLoreto, OF, Northeastern
3B - Cole Weiss, UNCW 3B - Zach Pearson, William & Mary 3B - Trevon Dabney, James Madison Anthony D'Onofrio, OF, Hofstra
OF - Kep Brown, UNCW OF - Noah Bridges, UNCW OF - Ty Adcock, Elon Javon Fields, OF, Towson
OF - Bradley Dixon, Charleston OF - Jeff Costello, Northeastern OF - Kevin Mohollen, Delaware Anthony Galason, OF, Elon
OF - Jordan Hutchins, Delaware OF - Anthony Galason, Elon OF - Brandon Raquet, William & Mary Kyle Novak, DH, James Madison
UT - Fox Semones, James Madison UT - Jimmy Joyce, Hofstra DH - Kyle Novak, James Madison Ryan Rue, LHP, Hofstra
DH - Ian Fair, Northeastern DH - Hunter Smith, William & Mary SP - Kyle Brnovich, Elon Joey Silan, RHP, Delaware
SP - George Kirby, Elon SP - Sean Mellen, Northeastern SP - Bodie Sheehan, William & Mary Zach Tsakounis, LHP, William & Mary
SP - Griffin McLarty, Charleston SP - Jared Wetherbee, Elon RP - Ty Adcock, Elon
RP - Nick Robertson, James Madison RP - Nathan Ocker, Charleston RP - Andrew Misiaszek, Northeastern