Rogers and Carolina Named to College Division All-State Baseball Team

The North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA) announced its selections for the 2016 College Division All-State Baseball Teams on Wednesday. Twenty-four players representing 11 different North Carolina Universities and Colleges were named to the 2016 NCCSIA College Division All-State Teams.

Catawba, which went 34-21 on the year and won the 2016 South Atlantic Conference Regular Season Championship, led the way with four all-state selections.  The Indians also claimed a share of the SAC Tournament Championship and earned a berth in the NCAA Division II Playoffs.

Leading the way for Catawba was a pair of first-team all-state selections in catcher Will Albertson (Sophia, N.C.) and infielder Dylan Richardson (Randleman, N.C.). 

Albertson led the team in batting average (.404) to go along with 17 home runs and 59 runs batted in and was named a 2016 Second-Team All-American by both the ABCA & NBCWA.  In addition, Albertson was chosen the 2016 SAC Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player.

Richardson started all 55 games for the Indians and finished with a .323 batting average, 12 home runs, and 54 RBI.  Richardson was a first-team All-SAC selection and a second-team All-Southeast Region pick (ABCA, NCBWA & d2CCA).  Defensively, Richardson earned the SAC Gold Glove at second base.

Rounding out the first-team infield is Mars Hill's Evan Rogers (Kernersville, N.C.), Lenoir-Rhyne's Matthew De La Rosa (Austin, Texas) and Barton's Calvin Hawke (Wendell, N.C.).

Rogers had an outstanding season, finishing with a .390 batting average with 19 home runs and 55 runs batted in.  For his efforts, Rogers earned First-Team All-American honors by the NCBWA.  In addition, Rogers was named the 2016 South Atlantic Conference Player Of The Year and a first-team all-region pick.  Rogers signed a free agent contract with the Philadelphia Phillies.

De La Rosa, a 2016 Second-Team All-SAC honoree, set a school single-season record with 61 runs batted in while hitting .357 and a team-tying 10 home runs.  De La Rosa was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles.

Hawke led the team in batting average (.412) to go along with a home run, 37 runs batted in and 18 stolen bases.  Hawke was named to the 2016 Conference Carolinas All-Conference Second Team.

The NCCSIA All-State College Division First Team for the outfield includes Wingate's Shane Billings (Kernersville, N.C.), Mount Olive's Zak Orrison (Fuquay-Varina, N.C.) and Methodist's Alex Rodriguez (Walkersville, N.C.).

Billings led the SAC in batting average (.444), hits (96), runs scored (74) and stolen bases (30) on his way to consensus All-American and First-Team All-Region and All-South Atlantic Conference accolades.  Billings also earned a league Gold Glove and was named a semifinalist for the Tino Martinez Award (the Division II National Player Of The Year).

Orrison led Mount Olive to the Conference Carolinas Tournament Championship after batting .375 with seven home runs and 47 runs batted in.  Orrison, an all-region, and all-conference selection, also stole 39 bases and finished his collegiate career with 114 stolen bases.

Rodriguez led the team in hitting (.398) with three home runs and 38 runs batted in and was named to the 2016 All-USA South First Team.  Rodriguez was also a D3baseball.com All-South Region honoree.

Mount Olive's Bruce Zimmerman (Woodstock, N.C.) and Barton's Dylan Ward (Laurinburg, N.C.) are first-team all-state starting pitchers. 

Zimmerman went 9-3 on the year with a 3.19 earned run average and 112 strikeouts while garnering all-region accolades.  Meanwhile, Ward was a first-team all-conference and all-region selection after totaling a 9-2 record with a 2.17 earned run average and 72 strikeouts.

Winston-Salem's Jordan Cummings was voted on as the first team all-state relief pitcher.  Cummings led the CIAA in saves (five) and was named to the All-CIAA First Team after fashioning a 4-3 record with 48 strikeouts and a 2.08 earned run average.

Wingate's Bradley Brown was selected as the NCCSIA All-State College Division First Team Designated Hitter.  Brown hit a team-leading 14 home runs to go along with a .352 average and 40 runs batted in and his slugging percentage (.796) ranks second in the conference.  Brown was an All-SAC and All-Southeast Region selection in 2016.

Nominees were submitted by North Carolina sports information professionals and voted on by the NCCSIA members.

Founded in 2002, The North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA) is comprised of sports information professionals from NCAA Division I, II, III, NAIA and independent institutions from the state of North Carolina.

The purpose of the organization is to promote collegiate athletics at all schools. Membership is open to anyone affiliated with a college, university or conference located in North Carolina, and whose area of responsibility lies within sports information.

NCCSSIA selects all-state teams in the University (Division I) and College (Division II, III, NAIA) divisions for men's and women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, volleyball, softball, and baseball.

North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association
2016 College Division All-State Baseball Teams