Morehead State senior outfielder Brandon Rawe has been tabbed to the Louisville Slugger Preseason First-Team All-America squad, as selected by Collegiate Baseball newspaper.
Rawe is Morehead State's first Louisville Slugger Preseason First-Team All-American and is just the third MSU player to be named to any of the three teams since 1998. Kevin Matuszek (2003) and Drew Lee (2010) were preseason third-team picks.
"This is a great honor for Brandon and well deserved," Head Coach Mike McGuire said. "I've seen his hard work and commitment as a player over his college career, and it's great to see him get this notoriety as one of the best players in the country."
A native of Matthews, N.C., Rawe shattered Morehead State's single-season hits record with 98 last year. He ranked among all Division I players in hits (4th), total bases (8th), doubles (16th) and slugging percentage (28th). Rawe also posted a team-best 30 multi-hit performances.
Rawe earned First-Team All-Ohio Valley Conference accolades from two organizations in 2014 (official OVC and College Sports Madness). He was also named Second-Team All-South Region by Rawlings and the American Baseball Coaches Association.
Rawe ranked among the league leaders in doubles (1st, 21), hits (2nd, 98), batting average (3rd, .390), total bases (3rd, 149), slugging percentage (5th, .594) and home runs (T-7th, 10).
"This is a big deal for our program," McGuire said. "Brandon was a good player when he got here, but he has become a great player. It's a testament to the hard work and development process we try to hang our hat on as a program."
The 2014 Eagles eclipsed 2013 totals for wins (29 compared to 16), OVC victories (16 to 10), home wins (13 to five) and road wins (15 to six). The 16 league wins were a program-best.
