BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University baseball trio of Nolan Schanuel, B.J. Murray and Hunter Cooley represent the Owls on the 2021 All-Conference USA squad, as voted on by league coaches, SID’s and media members and released on Tuesday, the eve of the C-USA Championship. All three are Second Team members, while Schanuel is also an All-Freshman honoree.
Sophomore LHP Hunter Cooley
Cooley began the year as a jack-of-all-trades, but with injuries to other Owl arms, moved to Friday night starter and has thrived…He is tied for second in the league with eight wins – an 8-3 mark – with an FAU-low 3.57 ERA (ranking ninth in C-USA)…On one day’s notice, he opened the team’s USF road series with a seven-inning shutout outing, on four hits, one walk and six strikeouts…He repeated that same stat line in the C-USA opener, but with a complete game effort vs. Marshall the next week (7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K)…He added another road CG win over WKU…Twice he had seven K’s, in a road win over FIU, and in a win over No. 19 USM
Sophomore INF B.J. Murray
Murray has had a breakout sophomore campaign, to the tune of a .316 average, with an FAU-high 14 home runs (tied for second in C-USA and 32nd in DI) along with 51 RBI (sixth in C-USA and 49th nationally)…He is also third in C-USA with 38 walks, and is sixth in slugging .601, also tops on the Owls…Other C-USA ranks are seventh in total bases (116), 11th in hits (61), 12th in runs (46), and 13th in OBP (.431)…He hit a home run in each game of a road series against eventual C-USA regular season champion Charlotte, and two more the next weekend vs. ODU…In fact, nine of his 14 HR have come against C-USA foes, second among league hitters
Freshman INF Nolan Schanuel
Schanuel has had a superlative true freshman campaign, ranking among the C-USA Top 10 in nearly every hitting category…He leads the Owls, and is fifth in C-USA and 37th in all of Division I, with 53 RBI, and has a team-high .346 average, seventh in the league…He also has 11 home runs, ranking him seventh in C-USA, 48 runs (eighth), a .442 OBP (eighth), 109 total bases (eighth), .589 slugging (eighth) and 64 hits (ninth)…He did not fall off one bit once league play started, as he had hit .346 in non-conference games (28-of-81), and then the very same .346 average against C-USA foes (36-of-104)…He also has more walks than strikeouts, 25 to 20
Here is the full list of those voted to the squads:
Player of the Year
Austin Knight, So., 3B, Charlotte
Pitcher of the Year
Walker Powell, Sr., RHP, Southern Miss
Freshman of the Year
Carter Trice, Fr., 2B, Old Dominion
Defensive Player of the Year
Taylor Young, Sr., 2B, Louisiana Tech
Newcomer of the Year
Austin Knight, So., 3B, Charlotte
Keith LeClair Coach of the Year
Robert Woodard, Charlotte
Assistant Coach of the Year
Christian Ostrander, Southern Miss
First Team All-Conference
IF Austin Knight, So., Charlotte
IF Taylor Young, Sr., Louisiana Tech
IF Hunter Wells, Sr., Louisiana Tech
IF Carter Trice, Fr., Old Dominion
OF Parker Bates, Sr., Louisiana Tech
OF Kyle Battle, Sr., Old Dominion
OF Reed Trimble, Fr., Southern Miss
C Nick Thornquist, Sr., UTSA
DH Charlie Fischer, So., Southern Miss
UT Manny Garcia, Sr., Louisiana Tech
SP Bryce McGowan, So., Charlotte
SP Jonathan Fincher, Jr., Louisiana Tech
SP Hunter Gregory, Jr., Old Dominion
SP Hunter Stanley, Sr., Southern Miss
SP Walker Powell, Sr., Southern Miss
RP Christian Lothes, Fr., Charlotte
RP David Zoz, Sr., Middle Tennessee
Second Team All-Conference
IF Nolan Schanuel, Fr., Florida Atlantic
IF B.J. Murray, So., Florida Atlantic
IF Tommy Bell, Jr., Old Dominion
IF Griffin Paxton, Sr., UTSA
OF Andy Garriola, Jr., Old Dominion
OF Gabe Montenegro, Jr., Southern Miss
OF Jackson Gray, So., WKU
C Aaron McKeithan, So., Charlotte
DH Will Butcher, Fr., Charlotte
UT Cade Edwards, Sr., Rice
SP Hunter Cooley, So., Florida Atlantic
SP Aaron Brown, Jr., Middle Tennessee
SP Ryne Moore, Jr., Old Dominion
SP Ben Ethridge, Fr., Southern Miss
RP Jason Hartline, Jr., Old Dominion
RP Ryan Och, So., Southern Miss
All-Freshman Team
INF Gino Groover, Charlotte
INF Adrian Figueroa, FIU
INF Nolan Schanuel, Florida Atlantic
INF Carter Trice, Old Dominion
INF Chandler Simpson, UAB
OF Cole McConnell, Louisiana Tech
OF Reed Trimble, Southern Miss
DH Will Butcher, Charlotte
DH Nathan Becker, Rice
SP Ben Ethridge, Southern Miss
RP Christian Lothes, Charlotte
RP Noah Dean, Old Dominion
