Coastal Carolina senior catcher Tucker Frawley has been named to the Capital One Academic All-America Division I baseball first team, as chosen by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Frawley, the 2012 Big South Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, graduated summa cum laude with a career grade point average of 3.94, including perfect 4.0 during seven semesters, as a physics major and qualified for the Academic All-America squad after being voted to the first team Capital One Academic All-Region 4 earlier this spring.
The Lexington, S.C., native joins former teammate Austin Fleet (2010) as the only Chanticleers to make the prestigious Academic All-America squad, which includes players from across the country.
In addition to his outstanding work in the classroom, Frawley is one of 12 finalists for the Johnny Bench Award for his outstanding effort on the field as well. After batting .234 last season, Frawley is fourth on the team in 2012 with a .297 batting average, hitting eight doubles and a home run with 24 runs scored and 27 RBI. The first team All-Big South Conference selection has also drove in seven game-winning runs.
Frawley has been Coastal’s Iron Man behind the plate, catching 476 of 534 innings (89.0 percent) despite only receiving one full game off. Additionally, he has directed the Chants’ young pitching staff (five freshmen, one sophomore, two junior college transfers and three juniors) to a 2.53 ERA, which ranks second in the NCAA.
Frawley has also helped the pitching staff control the opponents’ running game. He has thrown out 25 of 45 (55.6 percent) base runners this season, including three of five during last week’s Big South Tournament. Dating back to last season (at Clemson April 5), Frawley has gunned down 36 of his last 65 base runners (55.4 percent). In addition, he has picked off seven base runners this season – five at first, one at second and one at third.
The Chanticleer start their road to the College World Series at noon on Friday against Clemson, who the Chanticleers defeated 10-7 on April 14, at the NCAA Columbia Regional at Carolina Stadium.
