Jordan Allen, Tyler Hollick and Luke Andrade named 2012 ABCA NJCAA Players of the Year
June 13, 2012
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.- The American Baseball Coaches Association(ABCA), in conjunction with the NJCAA, has selected its 2012 Players of the Year for all three divisions of play.
Howard College (Tex.) left fielder Jordan Allen has been selected as the 2012 ABCA NJCAA Division I Baseball Player of the Year. Outfielder Tyler Hollick from Chandler-Gilbert Community College (Ariz.) was tabbed the ABCA NJCAA Division II Baseball Player of the Year and Joliet Junior College (Ill.) catcher Luke Andrade was named the ABCA NJCAA Division III Baseball Player of the Year.
All three student-athletes were selected as First-Team NJCAA All-Americans in their respective divisions.
Jordan Allen, a sophomore from Joshua, Texas, posted impressive offensive and defensive numbers this year for Howard College (Texas), who were one of the top-ranked teams all season in Division I.
The 6’0” outfielder led the Division I ranks with a .519 batting average, which was nearly 40 points higher than Levi Meyer of Iowa Western Community College who was second in the nation in batting average with .481. Allen also ranked first (tie) with 73 RBI’s and second (tie) with 96 hits.
Allen belted nine home runs and scored 53 runs for the year while also posting a .963 fielding percentage (48 putouts, 4 assists, 2 errors).
In addition to being named ABCA Player of the Year, Allen also was named a First-Team NJCAA All-American, selected to the DI Rawlings Gold Glove Team and took home the Rawlings Big Stick Award for posting the highest batting average in the Southwestern District (Region 5). Allen will play the next two seasons at Texas State University.
The Howard College baseball program has produced the last two Division I ABCA Players of the Year. Last year's receipient from Howard, Tyler Collins, was a sixth-round draft pick by the Detroit Tigers in 2011 and is currently playing for the Lakeland Fylers in the Florida State League (Advanced A).
Tyler Hollick, Chandler-Gilbert’s sophomore outfielder, capped his second year in the NJCAA by leading the DII ranks in on-base percentage (.605). He also ranked third in batting average (.475) and second in stolen bases (61). For the season he stole 61 bases in 67 attempts for a .910 average, which ranked second nationally as did his 53 walks.
Hollick, from Calgary-Alberta, Canada, also had seven doubles, eight triples, one home run and was credited with 29 RBIs. Defensively, he posted a .977 fielding percentage with 86 putouts and two errors.
Hollick has signed a letter of intent to finish his academic and collegiate baseball career at Ohio State University. He also was drafted in the 14th round (448th overall selection) of this year’s MLB Draft by the San Francisco Giants.
Luke Andrade, a freshman from Joliet, Ill., helped lead the Wolves to its third national championship in school history. The 5’11” infielder ranked fourth in the DIII ranks with 64 RBI’s while also ranking in the top 20 in runs (49), doubles (17) and triples (5).
Andrade earned Tournament MVP honors at the DIII World Series in Tyler, Texas, to close out the season. He hit .368 for the tournament with three doubles, seven runs scored and 10 total bases for a .526 slugging percentage.
Andrade will be returning to Joliet for his sophomore season in 2013.
Previous ABCA NJCAA Division I Players of the Year
2011 – Tyler Collins, Howard College, Texas
2010 – Bryce Harper, College of Southern Nevada
2009 – Bryson Smith, Young Harris College, Ga.
2008 – Joe Patterson, Seminole State College, Okla.
2007 - Doug Kroll, Iowa Western Community College
2006 - Steve Winkelmann, Neosho County Community College, Kan.
2005 - Michael Murray, Meridian Community College, Miss.
2004 - A.J. Johnson, Tallahassee Community College, Fla.
2003 - Nick Markakis, Young Harris College, Ga.
2002 - Cory Patton, Seward County Community College, Kan.
2001 - Wes Detwiler, Cowley County Community College, Kan.
Previous ABCA NJCAA Division II Players of the Year
2011 – Jhiomar Veras, Western Oklahoma State College
2010 – Raph Rhymes, LSU – Eunice, La.
2009 – Jake Astor – Des Moines Area Community College, Iowa
2008 – Juan Carlos Perez – Western Oklahoma State College
2007 - Tyler Moore, Meridian Community College, Miss.
2006 - Mike Wilson, Cecil College, Md.
2005 - Kyle Mills, Itawamba Community College, Miss.
2004 - Troy Moratti, Grand Rapids Community College, Mich.
2003 - Tim Dillard, Itawamba Community College, Miss.
2002 - Charles Anderson, Henry Ford Community College, Mich.
2001 - Braden Staranchuk, Grand Rapids Community College, Mich.
Previous ABCA NJCAA Division III Players of the Year
2011 – Lester Clark, North Arkansas College
2010 – Alexi Colon, Gloucester County College, N.J.
2009 - Keith Weinkofsky, Brookdale Community College, N.J.
2008 – Brandon Howard, Joliet Junior College, Ill.
2007 - Brock Lemire, Tyler Junior College, Texas
2006 - Ronny Hawley, Eastfield College, Texas
2005 - Tim Edmeads, Gloucester County College, N.J.
2004 - Trent Taylor, Richland College, Texas
2003 - Bart Hunton, Columbus State Community College, Ohio
2002 - John Allen, Richland College, Texas
2001 - Chris Meeks, Eastfield College, Texas
About the ABCA
The American Baseball Coaches Association is a nonprofit organization having more than 5,000 members, including baseball coaches from every state in the country and over 200 international members. The ABCA promotes camaraderie and rapport among all baseball coaches from the amateur to the professional levels. The organization also gives recognition to deserving players and coaches through several special awards and sponsorship programs. Visit www.abca.org for more information.
