STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Junior
Matthew Brash was named the MAAC Pitcher of the Year, highlighting Niagara's All-MAAC selections which were announced on Tuesday. Brash was also named to the All-MAAC First Team, while freshman shortstop
Max Giordano was selected to the MAAC All-Rookie Team.
Brash is Niagara's first-ever MAAC Pitcher of the Year recipient. Brash (4-5) had a phenomenal season on the mound for the Purple Eagles. He set the Niagara single-season strikeouts record with 121, which also led the MAAC and was 10
th in the NCAA. He finished the season with a 2.43 ERA, which was the best in the MAAC and is the second-best in NU history. Brash held his opponents to an impressive .194 batting average, which led all MAAC pitchers. He tossed three complete games in 2019, two of which were shutouts, and was a two-time MAAC Pitcher of the Week honoree.
On May 9, Brash was named to the 2019 Google Cloud Academic All-District District 1 First Team for his impressive performance both on the mound and in the classroom. As a sport management major, Brash has maintained a grade point average of 3.67. As a First Team Academic All-District honoree, Brash has advanced to the Google Cloud Academic All-America ballot. Selections will be announced in June.
Giordano had a solid debut season for the Purple Eagles. He played and started in 45 games and finished the season with 42 hits and a .216 batting average. Giordano was second on the team in RBI (29), doubles (nine), triples (two) and homeruns (five). He scored 21 runs and had three stolen bases.
The MAAC also announced the All-Academic Team on Tuesday. 12 Purple Eagles received All-Academic honors:
Peter Battaglia,
Darian Blanks,
Matthew Brash,
Brett Cook,
Cameron Dyck,
Matthew Grace,
Alexandre Jones,
Zachary Kolodziejski,
Alex MacKinnon,
Jordan Parranto,
Kyle Smyth and
Joseph Tevlin.
To qualify for the MAAC All-Academic Team, a student-athlete must have completed two semesters at his/her institution and have a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher.
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