GREENSBORO, N.C. – Junior pitcher Simon Miller and senior third baseman Antonio Valdez have been named to the ABCA/Rawlings All Region Central Region Second Team, announced the organization on Tuesday.
Founded in 1945, the American Baseball Coaches Association is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. The all-region teams are voted on by members of the American Baseball Coaches Association and the process is led by the ABCA NCAA Div. I All-America Committee.
This is the first time that UTSA has landed multiple student-athletes on the All-Region team. Valdez and Miller become the seventh and eighth Roadrunners to earn honors, the last one being Michael Rockett in 2008.
For Miller, this is the closer's fifth award he has earned this postseason, joining his Conference USA Pitcher of the Year, C-USA All-Conference First Team, CSC Academic All-District and Collegiate Baseball Third Team All-American honors. He was also named a finalist for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year award and College Baseball Foundation National Pitcher of the Year award.
Valdez made a huge impact on the UTSA Roadrunners, joining the team for his final year of eligibility. He led the Roadrunners with 29 multi-hit games, including 20 two-hit games, seven three-hit games, and two four-hit games. In the nation, he ended the season as 26th in hits, 37th in RBI and fourth in triples. He held his batting average over .400 for the majority of the season, before ending it with an impressive .387 average. He was also named to the Conference USA All-Conference First Team at the conclusion of the regular season.
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