Lynn Ace Dan Wright Named SSC Male Athlete of the Year
Lynn University pitching ace Dan Wright has been named the 2009 Sunshine State Conference Male Athlete of the Year, announced Tuesday by Commissioner Michael J. Marcil.
Voting for the award was conducted among the league’s sports information directors.
A junior from West Palm Beach, Fla., Wright was sensational in his debut season with the Fighting Knights. Posting a 15-2 record, he led all NCAA Division II pitchers in victories. Amassing 119 strikeouts in 121.2 innings of work, Wright ranked third in DII in that statistical category. He was the winning pitcher in Lynn’s 2-1 win over Emporia State, which gave the school its first ever NCAA baseball championship.
Registering 17 starts, Wright earned a decision in each game in which he appeared. Compiling a 2.29 ERA, he tossed four complete games, including three shutouts. He struck out at least 10 batters in four games, and in an April 25 win at Florida Tech, he fanned a school-record 17 batters en route to a one-hit complete game shutout. He also established new school records for wins, shutouts, and strikeouts in a season.
Wright’s stellar campaign was rewarded with a slew of accolades. He became the first Lynn pitcher to earn First Team All-America honors, having garnered the distinction on both the Daktronics and ABCA/Rawlings teams. He became just the second Fighting Knight ace to be named SSC Pitcher of the Year, sharing the distinction with Enriques Baca, who won the award in 2002. His impressive resume also includes First Team Daktronics, NCBWA and ABCA/Rawlings All-South Region honors. Wright was selected as a member of the All-Tournament team at the NCAA DII Baseball Championship.
Wright is the third Fighting Knight student-athlete to be recognized as SSC Male Athlete of the Year. Fellow baseball standout Nicolas Boisvert won the award in 2006-07. Soccer player Ross Lumsden claimed the honor in 2003-04.