TAMPA ? University of South Florida first baseman Todd Brazeal and shortstop Sam Mende earned spots on the 2009 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team, which is presented by Collegiate Baseball.
A third team all-BIG EAST selection, Brazeal was USF's every day starter at first base, playing in 58 games. He led the Bulls with 50 RBI and was second with 15 doubles in his first season on the diamond. The Chamberlain High School graduate posted a .348 batting average, connecting on 71 hits. He tagged five home runs on his way to a .495 slugging percentage and registered a .467 on base percentage.The redshirt freshman earned a BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll award after hitting two home runs and collecting five RBI in the April 4 game against Pittsburgh. He was then dealt four-straight walks over the next two games.
Mende, a true freshman, started all 59 games at shortstop for the 34-25 USF Bulls. He posted a .319 batting average, (4th on the team) and led the team with 17 doubles. He was also second on the team in hits with 74. Mende slugged .466 and had a .395 on base percentage in his first year of collegiate baseball. In four games of the conference tournament, he went 11-17 (.647) with three doubles and a home run, driving in six RBI. He also drew a pair of walks and was hit by a pitch while playing errorless defense, making 10 putouts added to seven assists. All of Mende's abilities on the field are not seen in stats, as he made numerous “big league” plays at shortstop, including a diving stop that held runners in place and led to the Bulls' second win of the BIG EAST Championships.
The 2009 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team squad is headed by Collegiate Baseball's Freshman Pitcher of The Year RHP Trevor Bauer of UCLA and Freshman Player of The Year 3B Anthony Rendon of Rice.
Brazeal and Mende are two of four BIG EAST players on the list, joining LHP Ryan Richter of Notre Dame and UConn outfielder George Springer.
Below is a rundown on the 2009 Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-Americans as chosen by Collegiate Baseball.
Starting Pitchers
RHP Trevor Bauer, UCLA
RHP Eric Harrington, Lamar
RHP Gerrit Cole, UCLA
RHP Anthony Meo, Coastal Carolina
RHP Cole Cook, Pepperdine
RHP Noe Ramirez, Cal. St. Fullerton
RHP Sam Gaviglio, Oregon St.
RHP Tyler Pill, Cal. St. Fullerton
RHP David Peterson, Co. of Charleston
RHP Jesse Darrah, Sacramento St.
RHP Kyle Hendricks, Dartmouth
RHP Jordan Cooper, Wichita St.
LHP Sean Gilmartin, Florida St.
LHP Ali Simpson, Bethune-Cookman
LHP Mitchell Lambson, Arizona St.
LHP Brett Mooneyham, Stanford
LHP Cameron Hobson, Dayton
LHP Charlie Lowell, Wichita St.
LHP Kevin Brandt, East Carolina
LHP Ryan Richter, Notre Dame
Relief Pitchers
Matty Ott, Louisiana St.
Michael Schum, Wright St.
Andrew Chafin, Kent St.
Tyler Mizenko, Winthrop
Chad Sheppard, Northwestern St.
Justin Malone, Georgia St.
James Allen, Kansas St.
Sonny Gray, Vanderbilt
Catchers
Jeremy Schaffer, Tulane
Beau Taylor, Central Florida
Jett Bandy, Arizona
Justin Kline, North Dakota St.
Nathan Orf, Illinois-Chicago
Peter O'Brien, Bethune-Cookman
Nick Rickles, Stetson
First Basemen
Preston Tucker, Florida
Ian Nielsen, Ball St.
Mike Martinez, Florida International
Nick O'Shea, Minnesota
Eduardo Gonzalez, Alcorn St.
Ricky Oropesa, Southern California
Todd Brazeal, USF
Second Basemen
Matt Jensen, Cal Poly
Dan Paolini, Siena
Eric Charles, Purdue
Zach Price, Army
Kevin Medrano, Missouri St.
Levi Michael, North Carolina
Riley Reynolds, Vanderbilt
Mark Jones, Stetson
Shortstops
Kris Kauppila, Portland
Jeff Kemp, Radford
Richie Rodriguez, Eastern Kentucky
Taylor Motter, Coastal Carolina
Joe Sclafani, Dartmouth
Casey McElroy, Auburn
Sam Mende, USF
A.J. Pettersen, Minnesota
Third Basemen
Anthony Rendon, Rice
Troy Channing, St. Mary's
Bo Reeder, East Tennessee St.
Troy Channing, St. Mary's
Tyler Bream, Liberty
Andrew Deeds, Morehead St.
Colby May, Georgia
Garrett Buechele, Oklahoma
Jacob Tanis, Mercer
Matt Skole, Georgia Tech.
Zach Miller, St. Louis
Bo Cuthbertson, Southern Utah
Sam Eberle, Jacksonville St.
Steven Proscia, Virginia
Outfielders
Kyle Bluestein, Jacksonville St.
Kolten Wong, Hawaii
Xavier Macklin, North Carolina A&T
George Springer, Connecticut
Dusty Robinson, Fresno St.
Tyler Sibley, Texas St.
Dylan Craig, Belmont
Taylor Dugas, Alabama
Jackie Bradley, South Carolina
Justin Gominsky, Minnesota
Willie Argo, Illinois
Lee Orr, McNeese St.
Ross Heffley, Western Carolina
Steve Selsky, Arizona
Daniel Bowman, Coastal Carolina
Derek Jones, Washington St.
Zach Borenstein, Eastern Illinois
Designated Hitters
Alex Dickerson, Indiana
Aaron Westlake, Vanderbilt
C.J. Cron, Utah
Derrick Shaw, Florida A&M
Nick Melino, Nevada
Ronnie Shaeffer, U.C. Irvine
Ian Leisenheimer, Maine
Multiple Position Athletes
Danny Hultzen, Virginia
Nick Ramirez, Cal. St. Fullerton
Zack Cox, Arkansas
Brett Harris, Old Dominion
