Local Sports
Sam Houston State's All-Americans
Prihoda and Verbick become latest in long line of Bearkat baseball players to earn national recognition
The good news keeps pouring in at Sam Houston State.
On Thursday, Bearkat pitcher Luke Prihoda and outfielder Bobby Verbick were named to the National College Baseball Writer’s Association 2007 All-America First Team.
Prihoda, a senior from Weimar, and Verbick, a junior from Angleton, were SHSU’s first All-America selections since shortstop Kelly Eddlemon in 1999.
“We’re sure excited about that,” Bearkats coach Mark Johnson said Thursday evening from the airport in Houston. “I found out about it this afternoon and I was really thrilled. Those guys certainly put up the numbers that were very credible, but the thing you worry about is, coming from a mid-level school, the committee may not recognize it as much because of the schedule you played.”
Prihoda, who was selected last week by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 24th round of the First-Year Player Draft, led NCAA Division I baseball with 18 saves this season. He set both Southland Conference and SHSU season records.
The hard-throwing right-hander had a 1.61 earned run average and a 7-3 record, striking out 65 batters while walking only 11 in 72 2/3 innings.
Last week, Prihoda was named Stopper of the Year by the National College Baseball Writer's Association. He earned the Pitcher of the Year award in the Southland Conference and was the league’s postseason tournament “Most Valuable Player.
Verbick batted .370 in his first season at SHSU. Playing in all 64 games, he led the team with 23 doubles, five triples, 14 home runs and 81 RBIs. Verbick had 30 multiple-hit games and led the Bearkats with 21 multiple-RBI contests.
“That shows the nation and everybody else that Sam Houston is on an uprise,” said Verbick, who transferred to SHSU from San Jacinto College. “It shows we do have good ballplayers at Sam Houston and in the Southland Conference.”
Verbick said the guys in the Bearkats’ batting order made his job easier this season.
“With (Keith) Stein hitting in front of me, pitchers usually had to throw me strikes because Keith was already on base. Then we had guys like (Karl) Krailo, (Austin) Boggs and (Nick) Zaleski behind me. That forced them to throw to everybody in the lineup,” Verbick said.
Johnson said it was somewhat surprising to see two Bearkats on the first team. That is something that only one other school — Vanderbilt — can claim.
“Obviously, Luke and Bobby are very deserving of this recognition,” Johnson said. “Luke received a lot of recognition, being Stopper of the Year and all. For Bobby to put up the numbers he did, he had a great year and was very consistent.
“Our pitching coach Justin Hill did a tremendous job with Luke. And Jimmy Blair and Bobby Verbick hit it off well in the hitting area. Those coaches deserve some recognition for what they did, too. To have two All-Americans in the same year is very unique. It really bodes well for those guys and our program.”
All-Americans from SHSU
NCAA Division I All-Americans
Kelly Eddlemon — 1999 1st Team
Luke Prihoda — 2007 1st Team
Bobby Verbick — 2007 1st Team
NCAA Division II All-Americans
Richard Johnson — 1983 3rd Team, 1985 1st Team
Bryan McDonald — 1986 1st Team
Terry Pirtle — 1986 1st Team
NAIA All-Americans
Alton Arnold — 1960 HM, 1961 1st Team, 1962 HM
Fred Beene — 1963 1st Team, 1964 1st Team
Doyle Campbell — 1975 HM
Jud Chamblee — 1981 HM
Albert Choate — 1965 2nd Team
Floyd Ciruti — 1972 1st Team
Richard Dyer — 1961 HM
Jimmy Dodd — 1963 2nd Team, 1965 1st Team
John Fox — 1966 HM
Carlo Gott — 1963 HM, 1964 1st Team
Joe Haney — 1960 1st Team, 1961 1st Team, 1962 1st Team, 1963 1st Team
Pat Harrop — 1963 HM
Hugh Hamilton — 1969 1st Team
Jackie Heard — 1974 2nd Team
Mike Holt — 1970 2nd Team
Steve Hume — 1981 HM
Dennis Kainer — 1980 HM
Ralph Katt — 1965 HM
Ronnie Kluch — 1964 HM
Dennis Lindstrand — 1966 HM
Rick Matula — 1975 HM
Jim Miller — 1974 1st Team
David Mire — 1976 2nd Team
Guinn Murray — 1962 1st Team
Roy Norrell — 1973 HM
Nathan Partain — 1979 HM
Jim Pitts — 1972 HM
Jerry Register — 1964 HM
John Skeeters — 1963 HM, 1965 HM
Larry Smith — 1962 HM
Tommy Wendt — 1977 1st Team, 1978 1st Team
Glenn Wilson — 1979 2nd Team, 1980 HM
David Woolley — 1974 1st Team
Cary Workman — 1963 1st Team
* HM-Honorable mention
2007 National College Baseball Writers Association All-America squad
Pos. First Team School Ht. Wt. Class. Hometown
1B Brett Wallace Arizona State 6-1 245 So. Sonoma, Calif.
2B Tony Thomas Jr. Florida State 5-10 180 Jr. Valrico, Fla.
3B Pedro Alvarez Vanderbilt 6-2 215 So. New York, N.Y.
SS Todd Frazier Rutgers 6-4 220 Jr. Toms River, N.J.
C Sean Coughlin Kentucky 6-1 215 Sr. Morrison, Colo.
OF Kellen Kulbacki James Madison 5-11 205 Jr. Palmyra, Pa.
OF Kyle Russell Texas 6-5 185 So. Tomball
OF Robbie Widlansky Florida Atlantic 6-2 210 Jr. Coral Springs, Fla.
DH Bobby Verbick Sam Houston St. 5-7 205 Jr. Angleton
UT Joe Savery Rice 6-3 215 Jr. Bellaire
SP Brian Matusz San Diego 6-4 193 So. Cave Creek, Ariz.
SP Adam Mills Charlotte 6-0 195 Sr. Big Pool, Md.
SP David Price Vanderbilt 6-5 215 Jr. Murfreesboro, Tenn.
SP Jacob Thompson Virginia 6-6 205 So. Danville, Va.
RP Andrew Carignan North Carolina 5-11 215 Jr. Norwich, Conn.
RP Luke Prihoda Sam Houston St. 6-5 230 Sr. Weimar
Second Team: 1B Matt LaPorta, Florida, Sr.; 2B Tyler Mach, Oklahoma State, Jr.; 3B Greg Sexton, William & Mary, Jr.; SS Brandon Turner, Mississippi State, Fr.; C Edward Easley, Mississippi State, Jr.; C Matt Wieters, Georgia Tech, Jr.; OF Corey Brown, Oklahoma State, Jr.; OF Maurice Davis, Alcorn State, Jr.; OF Dominic de la Osa, Vanderbilt, Jr.; OF Grant Desme, Cal Poly, Jr.; DH Kiel Roling, Arizona State, So.; UT Sean Doolittle, Virginia, Jr.; SP Adrian Alaniz, Texas, Jr.; SP Raymond Guilmet, Arizona, So.; SP Bryan Henry, Florida State, Sr.; SP Nick Schmidt, Arkansas, Jr.; RP Matt German, Northern Illinois, Sr.; RP Andy Masten, Creighton, Sr.
Third Team: 1B Dustin Ackley, North Carolina, Fr.; 1B Trey Sutton Southern Miss, Jr.; 2B Logan Johnson, Louisville, Sr.; 3B Blake Stouffer, Texas A&M, Jr.; C Jonathon Lucroy, Louisiana-Lafayette, Jr.; SS Derek Shunk, Villanova, Jr.; OF Brad McElroy, Charlotte, Jr.; OF Justin Jenkins, West Virginia, Sr.; OF Ryan Lavarnway, Yale, So.; OF Brian Rike, Louisiana Tech, Jr.; OF Emeel Salem, Alabama, Sr.; DH Phil Disher, South Carolina, Jr.; DH Aaron Luna,
Rice, So.; UT Zach Putnam, Michigan, So.; SP Nick Chigges, College Of Charleston, Sr.; SP Barry Enright, Pepperdine, Jr.; SP Scott Gorgen, UC Irvine, So.; SP Corey Kluber, Stetson, Jr.; SP Kyle Nicholson Texas A&M, Sr.; SP Wes Roemer, Cal State Fullerton, Jr.; RP Daniel Edwards, Kansas State, Jr.; RP Eryk McConnell, N.C. State, Jr.; RP Casey Weathers,
Vanderbilt, Sr.
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