TUCSON, Ariz. ? Senior shortstop Gary Helmick of Towson University has been named as a third team selection on The Louisville Slugger NCAA Division I All-America team, as selected by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
Helmick, who was named as a first team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection last week, is the first Tiger baseball player to earn All-American honors since first baseman Jason Maxey, ?05 and designated hitter Casper Wells, ?06 were second team All-Americans in 2005.
Honored as the CAA Player of the Week twice this season, Helmick was the CAA?s leading hitter for most of the season and finished the year with a CAA-leading .430 batting average. He is currently ranked tenth in the nation in batting.
A product of Northeast High School in Anne Arundel County, the Severn, Maryland native also led the CAA with 98 base hits, setting a Towson single season record. With 98 hits, he is ranked ninth in the nation. Helmick also led the CAA by scoring 72 runs, another school record. He is 17th in the nation in runs scored per game.
With a CAA-leading nine triples, he is second in the nation. With 179 total bases, he led the CAA and ranks third in the nation. Helmick was also the CAA leader with a .785 slugging percentage and ranks second in the CAA with a .502 on-base percentage.
Helmick, who hit safely in 49 of the Tigers? 53 games, had 33 multi-hit games. He also had an 18-game hitting streak and a 17-game streak this season.
He also led the Tigers with 17 home runs and had 51 runs batted in.
On March 13, he became the fourth player in Towson history to hit for the cycle when he accomplished the feat in a win over Yale.
A four-year starter in the infield, Helmick was the Tigers? second baseman as a sophomore and junior. When All-CAA shortstop Nick Natoli suffered a season-ending knee injury in the pre-season, Helmick volunteered to move over to shortstop.
?This is a great honor for Gary and it?s well-deserved,? said Towson Coach Mike Gottlieb. ?In my 22 years at Towson, it?s one of the best seasons anyone has ever had. I think that he has played himself into a position where he could be drafted professionally.?
Helmick led the Tigers to a 28-25 record and a 12-12 mark in the CAA. The Tigers barely missed out on a second consecutive trip to the CAA Tournament when they lost the final game of the regular season.
