Four Flashes Named All-Region, Three on First Team
6/13/2023 2:32:00 PM | Baseball
KENT- Four Golden Flashes earned All- East Region honors, including three on the first team as announced by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA).
First baseman Aidan Longwell and pitchers Joe Whitman and Mitchell Scott earned first-team All-Region honors while outfielder Collin Mathews earned a second-team nod. The three first-team members are the most for the Flashes since they placed five on the 2011 all-region squad.
The 2023 awards mantle continues to grow for the Golden Flashes as the thee first team members were named All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball News (CBN) earlier in the off-season. By making the first team in the All-Region balloting, they automatically advance to the All-American team ballot.
Longwell, a third-team All-American by CBN, put together a season for the ages. He became the first position player to earn All-America honors since George Roberts in 2012. Longwell hit .409 on the season, the highest average in a season at Kent State since John VanBenschoten hit .440 in 2001. His 75 RBI are the third-most ever at Kent State and his 94 hits and 23 doubles rank in the top-10 all-time for a season at Kent State. Longwell also played a stellar first base, recording a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in 432 chances, he is on the Gold Glove nomination ballot which will be announced next week.
Whitman earned first-team All-America honors from CBN and was named the Mid-American Conference's Pitcher of the Year. The lefty went 9-2 on the season with a 2.56 ERA. In 15 starts, Whitman tossed 81 innings for the Flashes, allowing only 63 hits and 29 walks while striking out 100. He's the first Collegiate Baseball First-Team All-American for the Flashes since Joey Murray in 2018.
Scott was a first-team All-Conference pitcher for the Golden Flashes and a second-team All-American by CBN. The righty was electric out of the Kent State bullpen. Scott recorded a Division-I leading 15 saves, the second-most in a season in Golden Flashes' history. The righty posted a 1.94 earned run average while striking out 65 in 46.1 innings. His stellar season was also recognized by the College Baseball Writers, who named him a Stopper of the Year finalist.
Mathews is an all-region outfielder for the second time in his career, earning the nod in 2021 as well. A first-team All-MAC outfielder, the graduate student hit .341 on the season with 10 homers and 50 driven in to go along with 22 steals. He also led the team with 63 runs scored on the year and led the defense with five outfield assists.
The ABCA All-America team will be released on Friday in conjunction with the start of the Men's College World Series.
