The 2015 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings NCAA Division III All-Region Teams were announced on Wednesday, May 20, and Westminster's Tyler Branneky, Will Miller, and Deion Hughes earned spots on the Central All-Region Second Team. Branneky adds another post-season award at third base while Miller adds one more as a starting pitcher. Hughes earns this post-season award as a utility.
Tyler Branneky, a junior from St. Louis, Missouri, led the Westminster Blue Jays with a .413 batting average on 52 hits and 126 at bats. With a .690 slugging percentage, he finished the season with a .503 on base percentage. He broke the Westminster season RBI record with 45 and tied the career triples record with six of his eight coming from this year. At third, he led the team with 77 asissts. Branneky earned St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Player of the Year honors along with a spot on the SLIAC All-Conference First Team. He was also named to the D3Baseball.com All-Central Region Second Team.
Will Miller, a junior from Oakville, Missouri, closed out the season with a perfect record from the mound. He finished the season with a 6-0 record and 69.1 innings pitched, and he led the SLIAC with a 1.69 earned run average (ERA). He struck out 64 batters and averaged 8.31 strikeouts per game. He earned Second Team All-SLIAC honors and was named to the D3Baseball.com All-Central Region Second Team.
Deion Hughes, a junior from Jefferson City, Missouri, completed the 2015 season with a 7-3 record on the mound with one save and five complete games pitched. He finished second in the SLIAC with a 1.70 ERA with 63.2 innings pitched. He averaged 10.04 strikeouts per game and finished with 71 strikeouts. Hughes walked just nine of the 226 batters faced, helping Westminster lead the nation in the strikeouts-to-walks ratio. During the season, he broke the Westminster career record for shutout wins with five. Hughes was named to the SLIAC All-Conference First Team.
The Westminster Blue Jays' season came to a close in the SLIAC Championship game with a 3-0 loss to Greenville College. They finished with a 24-12 record, the most wins since 2001. They placed second in the SLIAC West Division with a 16-6 conference record.
The 2015 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Div. III All-Region teams are voted on by members of the American Baseball Coaches Association and the process is led by the ABCA NCAA Div. III All-America Committee. The ABCA, founded in 1945, is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. Its over 6,600 members represent all 50 states and 23 countries.
For the full list of ABCA All-Region teams, click here.
