Jonathon Crawford & Karsten Whitson Earn Preseason All-American Honors From Baseball America
Thursday, January 31, 2013 | Baseball
University of Florida junior right-hander Jonathon Crawford (Okeechobee, Fla.) and junior right-hander Karsten Whitson (Chipley, Fla.) were each named to Baseball America's 2013 Preseason All-America Team announced on Thursday.
Chosen to the publication's second team, Crawford excelled for the 2012 USA College National Team last summer, going 3-0 with a 2.10 earned run average, highlighted by a pair of victories over powerhouse Havana in Cuba. He had previously been named a second-team Preseason All-American by Perfect Game and as a third-team selection by Louisville Slugger.
After pitching just 3.2 innings as a freshman at UF, Crawford made 19 appearances and 14 starts during his sophomore campaign as the Gators reached the NCAA College World Series for the third-straight year. The righty had a 6-2 mark with a 3.13 ERA and tied for second on the squad with 73 strikeouts in 77.2 innings.
In the opening round of the NCAA Gainesville Regional on June 1, Crawford became the first Gator hurler to register a complete-game no-hitter since John Burke accomplished the feat in a 2-0 shutout of Furman on May 23, 1991, that was the club's opener in the NCAA East Regional held at McKethan Stadium. Crawford, whose previous career-high stint was six innings against LSU on April 6, went the distance on 98 pitches (70 of them strikes) and faced the minimum of 27 batters en route to the 4-0 shutout of the Wildcats. He became just the seventh pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the NCAA Championship and was the first since Burke.
Crawford defeated Auburn in UF's SEC Tournament opener in Hoover, Ala., establishing a career high with nine strikeouts over 5.2 innings, and claimed the series opener at Tennessee on April 13. He fired six scoreless frames to help the Gators even the series with seventh-ranked LSU and also collected victories over Vanderbilt (5.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 6 K) and No. 19 UCF (5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 4 K).
One of five players to repeat as a Preseason All-American by Baseball America and named to the third team, Whitson appeared in 14 games last season, with 10 starts, and was 4-0 with a 3.51 ERA. He totaled 20 strikeouts in 33.1 innings and now sports a 12-1 (.923) career pitching record.
As a freshman in 2011, Whitson was chosen as the National Freshman Pitcher of the Year by Perfect Game and was named to the organization's Freshman All-American team. He also earned Freshman All-American recognition from Baseball America, Louisville Slugger and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). A member of the SEC's All-Freshman Team, Whitson held a permanent spot in the Gators' weekend rotation and finished 8-1 with a 2.40 ERA as Florida finished as the national runner-up. He tied for the top position with 19 starts, led the club with 92 strikeouts in 97.1 innings and limited opponents to a .235 batting average.
Baseball America annually polls Major League scouting directors to vote on the team and make their selections based on performance, talent and professional potential. In the past, the preseason All-America team has been a predictor both of the first round of the Draft and of team success. For example, nine of the 15 draft-eligible members of last year's first team became first-round picks last June, two others were supplemental first-rounders, and all 15 were selected in the top three rounds. In all, 16 of the 18 players drafted in the first round out of four-year colleges last year appeared on one of BA's three preseason All-America teams heading into the season.
Mark Appel, who elected to return for his senior year at Stanford rather than sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates as the No. 8 overall pick last year, was the only unanimous selection in the scouting director balloting.
The SEC placed 14 players on the three All-America teams, leading all leagues, as usual. But, the Pacific-12 Conference landed more players on the first team (four) than the SEC (three) or the ACC (three). The Pac-12 produced nine All-Americans overall, followed by the ACC and Big 12 conferences with five apiece.
Baseball America 2013 Preseason All-America Teams
First Team
C Andrew Knapp, California
1B Brian Ragira, Stanford
2B JaCoby Jones, LSU
3B Colin Moran, North Carolina
SS Trea Turner, NC State
OF Phillip Ervin, Samford
OF Aaron Judge, Fresno State
OF Austin Wilson, Stanford
DH Kris Bryant, San Diego
UT Marco Gonzales, Gonzaga
SP Mark Appel, Stanford
SP Sean Manaea, Indiana State
SP Carlos Rodon, NC State
SP Ryne Stanek, Arkansas
RP Colby Suggs, Arkansas
UT Marco Gonzales, Gonzaga
Second Team
C Spencer Navin, Vanderbilt
1B Conrad Gregor, Vanderbilt
2B Tony Kemp, Vanderbilt
3B D.J. Peterson, New Mexico
SS Brandon Trinkwon, UC Santa Barbara
OF Michael Conforto, Oregon State
OF Austin Cousino, Kentucky
OF Derek Fisher, Virginia
DH Daniel Palka, Georgia Tech
UT Michael Lorenzen, Cal State Fullerton
SP Jonathon Crawford, FLORIDA
SP Ryan Eades, LSU
SP Bobby Wahl, Ole Miss
SP Trevor Williams, Arizona State
RP Corey Knebel, Texas
UT Michael Lorenzen, Cal State Fullerton
Third Team
C Ty Ross, LSU
1B Kevin Cron, TCU
2B L.J. Mazzilli, Connecticut
3B Eric Jagielo, Notre Dame
SS Adam Frazier, Mississippi State
OF Jared King, Kansas State
OF Jason Monda, Washington State
OF Mason Robbins, Southern Miss
DH Johnny Field, Arizona
UT Aaron Brown, Pepperdine
SP Dillon Overton, Oklahoma
SP Adam Plutko, UCLA
SP Karsten Whitson, FLORIDA
SP Kevin Ziomek, Vanderbilt
RP Andrew Mitchell, TCU
UT Aaron Brown, Pepperdine
Single-game tickets for the 2013 Gator Baseball season are now on sale. Both single-game and season tickets can be purchased online at www.GatorZone.com/tickets or by calling the Gator Ticket Office at 1-800-34-GATOR from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The No. 13 Gators kick off their season on Friday, Feb. 15, at 7 p.m. against Duke.
Single-Game Ticket Prices are as follows:
| $10 – Reserved Box |
| $8 – Reserved Chairback |
| $6 – Reserved Bleacher |
| $4 – General Admission |
| UF Students – FREE with valid Gator1 ID card |
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