Four Terps Earn Big Ten Honors
5/23/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
CHICAGO, Ill. – Four University of Maryland baseball players earned All-Big Ten honors, the conference announced Tuesday morning.
Maryland earned two of three conference overall player honors, with junior right-handed pitcher Brian Shaffer named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and freshman left-handed pitcher Tyler Blohm named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Shaffer and sophomore outfielder Marty Costes were tabbed first-team All-Big Ten, while sophomore third baseman AJ Lee was a third-team pick. Blohm was a unanimously chosen to the Big Ten All-Freshman team.
Shaffer and Blohm are the first Maryland players to win overall conference player honors since outfielder Derek Hacopian won ACC Player of the Year in 1992. Hacopian and pitcher Bob Grossman (1972 ACC Player of the Year) are the only other players in school history to win an overall individual honor.
Shaffer has put together one of the top pitching seasons in school history, sporting a conference best 1.67 ERA (9th in the country) in 97 innings pitched. He is the only player in the conference to toss more than 90 innings this season. Shaffer is second in the conference in strikeouts (98) and third in opposing batting average (.206). Shaffer's 0.91 WHIP Is the best in the Big Ten and 17th in the country.
The Pylesville, Md., native has etched his name in the Maryland record books already this season. His 98 Ks is the seventh-most in a single season in school history and his 97 innings pitched sits sixth. Shaffer's 20 career wins is tied for second in Maryland history. He was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week twice this season.
Blohm has burst on the scene with a conference-best eight wins on the season, which is third among freshman in the nation. The Severna Park, Md., native sports a 3.46 ERA with 57 strikeouts and a .228 batting average against in 67 and two thirds of an inning. He was a two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week honoree.
One of the most dangerous offensive players in the conference, Costes leads Maryland in average (.336), hits (71), total bases (113) and RBIs (39). He also has added nine home runs and is getting on base at a .432 clip. The Baltimore native is in the top-10 in the conference in six offensive categories.
He is Maryland's first first-team all-conference outfielder since Hacopian in 1992.
Lee has been sensational down the stretch, batting .376 with six home runs and 22 RBIs in his final 30 games. For the season, Lee finished with seven homers, 31 RBIs, a.484 slugging percentage and 14 stolen bases. The Millersville, Md., native was Maryland's best performer in Big Ten play, batting .366 with a .537 slugging percentage.
Outfielder Zach Jancarski, who batted .324 with 13 doubles, 45 runs scored and 19 stolen bases, was named Maryland Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree.
Maryland opens the Big Ten Tournament Wednesday night in Bloomington, Ind. The fourth-seeded Terrapins face off with fifth-seeded Iowa with first pitched set for 8:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast nationally on BTN and fans can also listen to the contest live on the Maryland Baseball Network.
Maryland All-Time All-Big Ten HonoreesPlayer Year Position Team
Tyler Blohm 2017 P Freshman/Freshman of the Year
Marty Costes 2017 OF 1st
AJ Lee 2017 3B 3rd
Brian Shaffer 2017 P 1st/Pitcher of the Year
Taylor Bloom 2016 P 3rd
Marty Costes 2016 OF Freshman
Nick Dunn 2016 2B 3rd/Freshman
Brian Shaffer 2016 P 3rd
Jose Cuas 2015 3B 2nd
Brandon Lowe 2015 2B 1st
Kevin Martir 2015 C 3rd
Mike Shawaryn 2015 P 1st
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