Seven members of the Youngstown State baseball team have garnered postseason Horizon League honors. The conference announced its all-league teams and special award winners Tuesday, the day before play begins in the Horizon League Baseball Championship.
Senior center fielder Trey Bridis was named First-Team All-Horizon League while junior left-hander Collin Floyd, sophomore right fielder Blaze Glenn and freshman shortstop Jeff Wehler were each named Second-Team All-Horizon League. Wehler, outfielder Lucas Nasonti, first baseman Nick LaBrasca and reliever Jakob Brustoski were voted to the All-Freshman Team.
"We are very excited for the players that were selected to the all-league team this year," YSU head coach Dan Bertolini said. "Their dedication and hard work has been rewarded, and we are extremely proud of their effort. We had players from all four classes represented, and we hope that this will give our players a boost of confidence heading into the Horizon League Tournament."
YSU's seven honorees matched the most in a season in school history and were second only to Wright State, which had nine players earn postseason recognition. The Penguins also had seven players be honored by the league in 2007. This marks the first season since 2010 in which the Penguins had four players be named to the first or second teams. Bridis is the first Penguin to earn first-team honors since Frank Califano in 2015 while Wehler is the first YSU freshman to earn second-team honors since Alex Larivee in 2014. Wehler was one of three freshmen in the league to garner first or second team honors.
Bridis has enjoyed a tremendous senior season, ranking in the top 10 of the Horizon League in eight different offensive categories. He is first in walks, second in home runs, third in runs scored, fourth in slugging, fifth in at bats, fifth in OBP, sixth in hits and seventh in stolen bases. After starting the season just 2-for-23, Bridis is batting .330 with 58 hits in 44 games played since March 4. On May 14, Bridis was named a National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball and the Horizon League Co-Batter of the Week after a week in which he batted .500 and hit four home runs. Bridis has a career-high 42 walks this season, which ranks as the second most in a single season in school history. He leads YSU with a career-high 13 home runs, which also ranks as the second most in a single season in school history.
Glenn earns postseason honors after making quite an impression in his first season as a Penguin. The transfer from Sinclair Community College leads YSU with a .324 batting average, 42 RBIs, 61 hits and a .443 OBP while ranking in the top 10 of the Horizon League in eight different offensive categories. He is currently third in walks, fourth in OBP, fourth in home runs, fifth in hits, fifth in RBIs, fifth in slugging, fifth in batting average and seventh in steals. He reached base in 46 consecutive games from Feb. 24 through May 15, which was believed to be the longest streak in the country when it ended. His 11 home runs this season are tied for the fourth most in a single season in school history. Bridis and Glenn are two of four players in school history to record at least 10 home runs and 10 stolen bases in the same season.
Floyd finished the regular season tied for third in the Horizon League with a career-high 82 strikeouts, which are tied for the seventh most by a Penguin in a single season. The junior is the first Penguin to strike out at least 80 batters in a season since Phil Klein in 2011, and he struck out at least six batters in a game on nine different occasions. He is also fifth in the conference with 69.1 innings pitched this season and is averaging a career-best 10.64 strikeouts per nine innings. Floyd was 3-0 with a 0.45 ERA and 24 strikeouts over his first three league starts and was named Horizon League Pitcher of the week on April 2.
Wehler's league honors come after an impressive first season as a collegiate baseball player. He leads YSU while ranking second in the Horizon League and 29th in the nation with 25 stolen bases. His 25 steals are the most by a YSU freshman, and he is the first Penguin since 1988 to reach at least 25 steals in a season. His total is the fourth most in a single season in school history, and only three freshmen in the country have more steals than him. He leads the league with 204 at bats, and his 12 doubles rank fifth. In conference play, he is second with 15 steals while ranking third with nine doubles and fourth with 35 hits.
In addition Wehler, Nasonti, LaBrasca and Brustoski each enjoyed impressive freshman seasons as well. Over his last 18 games, Nasonti is batting .286 with 14 runs scored, 13 RBIs and seven stolen bases while starting every game in the outfield. After starting the season just 1-for-12, LaBrasca is 22-for-67 (.328) in 22 games played since while hitting .291 with 18 RBIs overall. Brustoski has been one of the team's primary arms in the bullpen this season. He is tied for the team lead with 24 appearances and has struck out 34 batters. Opponents are hitting just .177 against him, and he leads the team with 13.30 strikeouts per nine innings pitched.
Wright State senior Gabe Snyder was named the Horizon League Player of the Year while UIC senior Ryan Campbell was voted Pitcher of the Year. UIC's Charlie Cerny was named Relief Pitcher of the Year, Griffin Doersching of Northern Kentucky was Freshman of the Year and Wright State's Jeff Merched earned Coach of the Year honors.
The Penguins will play Oakland in the first round of the 2018 Horizon League Baseball Championship on Wednesday at noon. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
