
NCBWA Honors Four Gators
Monday, February 5, 2018 | Baseball
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The preseason honors continue to roll in for the Gators, as four players earned recognition Monday from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Junior Michael Byrne was selected to the NCBWA Preseason All-America First Team and Brady Singer was named to the Second Team. JJ Schwarz and Jackson Kowar are Third Team selections.
Byrne emerged in the closer role for the Gators last year and blossomed into a First Team All-American, leading the nation with a school-record 19 saves and posting a 1.67 earned run average in 75.6 innings pitched. He led the Southeastern Conference with 38 appearances on the year and had 93 strikeouts to just 15 walks on the year.
In his first season as a weekend starter, Singer posted a 9-5 record with a 3.21 ERA and was named to the 2017 College World Series All-Tournament Team. He led the SEC with 126.0 innings pitched and earned Second Team All-SEC honors and finished with 129 strikeouts, the eighth-most by a UF pitcher in a single season.
Kowar moved into the weekend rotation and tied the best single-season record in Florida history with a 12-1 (.923) record as the Gators' Sunday starter. He led the SEC with 12 wins on the year and earned Honorable Mention All-America honors. Kowar pitched 1.2 scoreless innings in Game 2 of the CWS Finals against LSU to earn his first career save as UF won the title.
For the third year in a row, Schwarz led the Gators in RBI (56) and also had a team-high 12 home runs. He was named Second Team All-SEC after hitting .314 in league play with 30 RBI and six home runs. In his career, he ranks in the Top 10 in school history in home runs (37, 7th) and RBI (189, 5th) heading into his final season.
Last season, Florida won the first national title in program history with a 52-19 record. The Gators have reached the College World Series for the six times in the past eight years under head coach Kevin O'Sullivan. UF is the only program in the country to earn a top-eight national seed for NCAA play for the eighth time in the last nine years.
The Gators open the 2018 season on Feb. 16 against Siena at McKethan Stadium. Season tickets and Flex Passes for the 2018 Gator Baseball season are on sale now and can be purchased online through FloridaGators.com 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 FloridaGators.com or follow the team's Twitter account @GatorsBB.
Junior Michael Byrne was selected to the NCBWA Preseason All-America First Team and Brady Singer was named to the Second Team. JJ Schwarz and Jackson Kowar are Third Team selections.
Byrne emerged in the closer role for the Gators last year and blossomed into a First Team All-American, leading the nation with a school-record 19 saves and posting a 1.67 earned run average in 75.6 innings pitched. He led the Southeastern Conference with 38 appearances on the year and had 93 strikeouts to just 15 walks on the year.
In his first season as a weekend starter, Singer posted a 9-5 record with a 3.21 ERA and was named to the 2017 College World Series All-Tournament Team. He led the SEC with 126.0 innings pitched and earned Second Team All-SEC honors and finished with 129 strikeouts, the eighth-most by a UF pitcher in a single season.
Kowar moved into the weekend rotation and tied the best single-season record in Florida history with a 12-1 (.923) record as the Gators' Sunday starter. He led the SEC with 12 wins on the year and earned Honorable Mention All-America honors. Kowar pitched 1.2 scoreless innings in Game 2 of the CWS Finals against LSU to earn his first career save as UF won the title.
For the third year in a row, Schwarz led the Gators in RBI (56) and also had a team-high 12 home runs. He was named Second Team All-SEC after hitting .314 in league play with 30 RBI and six home runs. In his career, he ranks in the Top 10 in school history in home runs (37, 7th) and RBI (189, 5th) heading into his final season.
Last season, Florida won the first national title in program history with a 52-19 record. The Gators have reached the College World Series for the six times in the past eight years under head coach Kevin O'Sullivan. UF is the only program in the country to earn a top-eight national seed for NCAA play for the eighth time in the last nine years.
The Gators open the 2018 season on Feb. 16 against Siena at McKethan Stadium. Season tickets and Flex Passes for the 2018 Gator Baseball season are on sale now and can be purchased online through FloridaGators.com 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 FloridaGators.com or follow the team's Twitter account @GatorsBB.
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