Georgia Tech catcher Joey Bart, projected to be selected early in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft in June, was named the ACC player of the year in a vote of the conference’s coaches. The announcement was made Monday.
Bart, a junior from Buford High, goes into the ACC tournament this week in Durham, N.C., leading the ACC in batting average (.368), on-base percentage (.481), slugging percentage (.651) and total bases (138 in 55 games). He was also named the league’s defensive player of the year and is a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy (national player of the year) and the Johnny Bench Award (national catcher of the year).
Bart is the fifth Tech player to be named conference player of the year, following Ricardo Ingram (1987), Andy Bruce (1991), Jason Varitek (1993) and Mark Teixeira (2000).
Bart was one of six Yellow Jackets players to earn All-ACC honors, including three more on the first team – second baseman Wade Bailey, utility player Tristin English and starting pitcher Connor Thomas. Bailey, from Villa Rica High, was named first-team All-ACC for the second year in a row. He is third in the ACC in batting average at .345. English, from Pike County High, has driven in 59 runs, second in the ACC, and also made 14 pitching appearances, nine of them starts.
Thomas, from Tift County High, has a 2.87 ERA over 94 innings and leads the ACC in complete games (three), strikeout-to-walk ratio (11.56) and walks per nine innings (.86).
Outfielder Chase Murray (.355) was named to the second team. First baseman Kyle McCann (.299, 15 home runs) was named to the third team.
Tech tied for the most selections to the 16-member first team with N.C. State. Its six players on the first, second and third teams was tied for third most.
About the Author
