Richie Martin & A.J. Puk Earn Preseason All-American Honors From D1Baseball.com
Tuesday, February 3, 2015 | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – University of Florida junior shortstop Richie Martin and sophomore left-hander/first baseman A.J. Puk were named to the inaugural 2015 Preseason All-America Team announced by D1Baseball.com on Tuesday. Puk made the second team at the utility spot, while Martin earned a berth on the third team.
D1Baseball editors Aaron Fitt and Kendall Rogers selected the preseason All-America teams with one guiding principle in mind: To identify the best and most valuable college baseball players for the 2015 season. Past performance and future upside factored into the deliberations, but the goal was neither to identify the best future Major Leaguers nor to reward the players who have put up the gaudiest numbers in past seasons (particularly since the level of competition varies significantly from one conference to another). The objective was to select the players who would provide the most value for a team that wanted to win the College World Series in 2015—the players who are best equipped to perform at an elite level if they were matched up against elite college competition this spring.
Over 20 appearances on the mound, including seven starts last spring, Puk was 5-2 with a 3.19 earned run average and totaled 46 strikeouts in 42.1 innings. The southpaw limited opponents to a .210 batting average and picked up one save. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native also saw time as the Gators' designated hitter and at first base and batted .222 (14-for-63) with eight walks, six RBI, four runs and three doubles.
Martin started all 63 games at shortstop for the SEC Champions and was on the Watch List for the Brooks Wallace Award. He batted .265 with team highs in at bats (249), stolen bases (18) and runs scored (49) and enjoyed career highs in doubles (11), triples (2) and homers (1). Martin had a tremendous 2014 season with the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod League over the summer, ranking second in the league with a single-season club record .364 batting average and placing first in both hits (59) and runs (36). He was ranked as the No. 8 prospect on the Cape by Baseball America, was a third-team Summer Collegiate All-American by Perfect Game and made the CCBL All-League Team.
Florida will open its season with a three-game series against Rhode Island beginning on Friday, Feb. 13. Season tickets and the Complete Game Mini-Plans can be purchased online through GatorZone or by calling the Gator Ticket Office at 1-800-34-GATOR from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday. For all of the latest information on Florida baseball, log on to GatorZone or follow the team's Twitter account @GatorZoneBB.
