2016 SSC Baseball All-Conference Selections
MELBOURNE, Fla. - Thirty-three baseball student-athletes earn All-Sunshine State Conference accolades in 2016. The University of Tampa earns seven awards including Coach of the Year after securing the 2016 conference championship.
Voting for the All-SSC baseball awards was conducted among the league's baseball coaches.
SSC Baseball All-Conference History: All-SSC Teams | Players & Coaches of the Year
The 2016 SSC Player of the Year honor belongs to Lynn University's John Silviano. The sophomore catcher ranks No. 1 in league Slugging Percentage (.958), Runs Scored (69), Runs Batted In (74), and Home Runs (30). The Boynton Beach, Florida native's 30 homeruns is a new conference single season homerun record. It is just one homerun shy of the most at any level of NCAA baseball. Silviano is the fifth Fighting Knight to win Player of the Year and the fourth to do so in the last five years (Sal Giardina, 2014; Jason Matusik, 2013; Anthony Boza, 2012; Nicolas Boisvert, 2007).
Alex Mateo is awarded Pitcher of the Year following a 7-4 season on the hill for Nova Southeastern. In 87.2 innings pitched, he struck out 80 batters and registered a WHIP of 1.198. The senior from Miami, Florida was Top-5 in SSC Earned Run Average (3.18), Innings Pitched, Strikeouts, and Wins. Mateo becomes the second Shark to be named SSC Pitcher of the Year (Derek Antelo, 2005).
Eckerd's Mitchell Calandra, a catcher/third baseman from Floral Park, New York, is named Freshman of the Year. He ended the regular season with 49 hits in 142 At-Bats for a .345 Batting Average. Calandra led Eckerd in Batting Average and Hits in conference play at .364 and 28. Calandra is the first Triton to be named SSC Freshman of the Year.
SSC baseball coaches award Coach of the Year to Joe Urso for the 10th time in his career. Urso guided the Spartans to a 41-8 overall record and 20-4 conference record in 2016. The Spartans won their 17th SSC championship this year and are now tied with the most all-time. UT earned the top seed and will host the 2016 NCAA South Region Tournament.
For the second time in SSC baseball history all four individual awards went to individuals at four different institutions. The only other occurrence was in 2008, with Urso also being named Coach of the Year.
Mateo and Troy Sieber (Saint Leo) repeat as first team honorees from 2015. Sam Machonis (Florida Southern) earns first team accolades after making second team in 2015. Ryan Baldwin (Barry) is a first teamer after winning Freshman of the Year last season.
Player of the Year = John Silviano, Lynn
Pitcher of the Year = Alex Mateo, Nova Southeastern
Freshman of the Year = Mitchell Calandra, Eckerd
Coach of the Year = Joe Urso, Tampa
| All-SSC First Team |
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| 1B |
Troy Sieber* |
Saint Leo |
Jr. |
Salem, N.J. |
| 2B |
Laz Rivera |
Tampa |
Jr. |
Miami, Fla. |
| 3B |
Mitch Reeves |
Florida Southern |
Jr. |
Winter Springs, Fla. |
| SS |
Alexander DeGoti |
Barry |
Sr. |
Miami, Fla. |
| C |
John Silviano |
Lynn |
So. |
Boynton Beach, Fla. |
| OF |
Danny Lee |
Tampa |
Jr. |
Sarasota, Fla. |
| OF |
Sam Machonis^ |
Florida Southern |
Sr. |
Tampa, Fla. |
| OF |
Ryan Baldwin~ |
Barry |
So. |
Fairhaven, Mass. |
| OF |
Alex Mata |
Saint Leo |
Jr. |
Ft. Myers, Fla. |
| DH |
Brandon Gomez |
Nova Southeastern |
Jr. |
Miami Beach, Fla. |
| UT |
Logan Browning |
Florida Southern |
So. |
Lakeland, Fla. |
| RP |
Devin Raftery |
Nova Southeastern |
Sr. |
Deltona, Fla. |
| SP |
Alex Mateo* |
Nova Southeastern |
Sr. |
Miami, Fla. |
| SP |
Ty Cohen |
Florida Tech |
So. |
Woodstock, Ga. |
| SP |
Christopher Williams |
Tampa |
Jr. |
Odessa, Fla. |
| SP |
Julian Loret de Mola |
Nova Southeastern |
Sr. |
Miami, Fla. |
| |
|
|
|
|
| All-SSC Second Team |
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| 1B |
Ryan Donovan |
Lynn |
Sr. |
Yardley, Pa. |
| 2B |
Jancarlos Cintron |
Nova Southeastern |
Jr. |
Bayamon, Puerto Rico |
| 3B |
Grant Ashline |
Rollins |
So. |
Naples, Fla. |
| SS |
John Sternagel |
Florida Tech |
Jr. |
Rockledge, Fla. |
| C |
Christopher Corbett |
Rollins |
Jr. |
Stokesdale, N.C. |
| OF |
Casey Scoggins^ |
Tampa |
Sr. |
Port St. Lucie, Fla. |
| OF |
Kevin Suarez |
Nova Southeastern |
Jr. |
Miami, Fla. |
| OF |
Daniel Szpik |
Florida Tech |
So. |
Ontario, Canada |
| OF |
John Borup* |
Lynn |
Sr. |
Orlando, Fla. |
| DH |
Kevin Capella |
Florida Tech |
So. |
Lake Mary, Fla. |
| UT |
JD Osborne |
Tampa |
Jr. |
Whitby, Ontario |
| RP |
Drew Beyer |
Florida Tech |
So. |
Sarasota, Fla. |
| SP |
Alex Lavandero |
Barry |
So. |
Miami, Fla. |
| SP |
Kevin Martin |
Tampa |
Sr. |
McDonough, Ga. |
| SP |
Ben Richardson |
Florida Southern |
Sr. |
Orlando, Fla. |
| SP |
Luis Deville |
Barry |
Jr. |
Miami, Fla. |
* = 2015 First Team
^ = 2015 Second Team
~ = 2015 Freshman of the Year