Eight Musketeers Earn All-BIG EAST Honors

NEW YORK - After helping Xavier to a second-place finish in the BIG EAST, eight Musketeers earned All-BIG EAST honors, as voted on by the league coaches. Three Musketeers, Brant Alazaus, Matthew DePrey and Andrew Walker, earned All-BIG EAST First Team honors.

Additionally, Ethan Bosacker, Justin Loer, Matt McCormick, Jared Cushing and Grant Stephenson earned BIG EAST Second Team honors. Xavier's eight honorees were the most among all BIG EAST schools.

Left-handed pitcher Brant Alazaus earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST First Team as a starting pitcher. Alazaus, a graduate student from Alliance, Ohio, has made 14 starts this season with an ERA of 3.84, fourth best in the BIG EAST, though 86.2 innings pitched, with 87 strikeouts to just eight walks for the season.

In BIG EAST play, Alazaus made seven starts with an ERA of 2.72 and an opposing batting average of .206 through a league-leading 46.1 innings pitched. During conference play, Alazaus had 44 strikeouts, second most among BIG EAST pitchers, and only gave up one walk.

Alazaus leads the BIG EAST with eight wins on the season, including a complete-game shutout against Creighton. Alazaus leads the nation in walks allowed at 0.83, leads the BIG EAST and is second in the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio (10.88), and leads the BIG EAST and is No. 5 in the country WHIP (0.92).

Matthew DePrey earned the All-BIG EAST First Team nod at catcher, making all 56 starts for the Musketeers behind the plate. DePrey, a junior from Sun Prairie, Wis., has a .290 batting average for the season, with a team-high matching 14 home runs among his 63 hits, driving in 39 RBIs and scoring 45 runs, with 119 total bases for the season.

In BIG EAST play, DePrey had 25 hits, including six home runs, 16 RBIs and 16 runs scored.

In the field, DePrey has a .991 fielding percentage and has thrown out 17 stolen base attempts, second most in the league, including five in BIG EAST play. He also ranks in the top three among everyday catchers in the BIG EAST in fewest passed balls.

Left fielder Andrew Walker earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST First Team after starting in all 56 games for the Musketeers. Walker, a graduate student from Pittsburgh, Pa., has a team-best .330 batting average for the season, leading Xavier with 76 hits, including a team-high 19 doubles and seven home runs. For the season, Walker has 48 RBIs, matching for the most on the team, and has scored a team-high 51 runs.

In BIG EAST play, Walker had a .325 average at the plate, with seven doubles and four home runs among his 26 hits in league play, ranking fifth in the league with a .588 slugging percentage in conference play. His 21 runs scored in conference action leads the Musketeers and is tied for third in the league. He has 32 walks on the season, with 18 coming in BIG EAST play, third most in the league.

Walker matches for BIG EAST high in hits (76) and doubles (19) and is second in the league in stolen bases (25).

In the field, Walker has a .990 fielding percentage for the season with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in BIG EAST games.

This is the second post-season honor of Walker's career, also earning BIG EAST Second Team honors in 2021.

Right-handed pitcher Ethan Bosacker, a senior from Monticello, Minn., earned All-BIG EAST Second Team honors as a starting pitcher.

Bosacker has made 14 starts this season, with a 3.98 ERA, fifth best in the conference among qualified pitchers, through 81.1 innings pitched on the season. He has a team-high 90 strikeouts for the season, second most in the BIG EAST, and has walked 25, for a 3.60 strikeout to walk ratio, third best in the league.

In BIG EAST play, Bosacker made seven starts with a 5.23 ERA in 41.1 innings pitched, picking up three wins. He has 42 strikeouts against conference opponents, third most in the league, and limited opposing batters to a .232 average at the plate, top five among qualified pitchers in BIG EAST play.

For the season, Bosacker is top five in the league in WHIP (1.16), hits allowed per nine innings (7.64) and wins (7).

Left-handed pitcher Justin Loer, a sophomore from Lakeville, Minn., earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team as a relief pitcher.

Loer has made 26 appearances, including one start, with a 1.94 ERA through 51.0 innings pitched, best among Xavier's pitchers who have pitched at least 30 innings this season. His season ERA also ranks in the top five in the BIG EAST among pitchers who have pitched at least 5.0 innings this season.

Loer has 57 strikeouts on the the season, has limited opposing batters to a .184 average at the plate and has a record of 5-3 with five saves.

In BIG EAST play, Loer made nine appearances, posting a 3.12 ERA through 17.1 innings pitched, picking up a win and three saves. Against conference opponents, Loer only allowed six runs, and had 21 strikeouts to just seven walks.

First baseman Matt McCormick, a senior from Chicago, Ill., earned All-BIG EAST Second Team honors.

McCormick has made 54 starts for the Musketeers, with a .315 batting average for the season. Among his 62 hits are 11 doubles and 13 home runs, driving in 35 RBIs and scoring 37 runs. McCormick leads Xavier's everyday players with a .569 slugging percentage and a .433 on-base percentage.

In BIG EAST play, McCormick had a .312 average at the plate, with 11 of his 24 hits going for extra bases including seven home runs, which led the team and ranked second among league players in conference play. He finished conference action with a .636 slugging percentage and had 49 total bases, with both marks ranking third in the league. McCormick also took 13 of his 27 walks during conference play.

On defense, McCormick has a .986 fielding percentage, with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in BIG EAST play.

Second baseman Jared Cushing, a senior from Naperville, Ill., earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST Second Team.

Cushing started in all 56 games, with a .293 batting average for the season. Among his 63 hits are 24 for extra bases, including 14 home runs, matching for team high. He also matched for team high in RBIs, driving in 48 on the season, and has scored 40 runs.

In BIG EAST play, Cushing led Xavier's everyday players with a .351 average, third best among league players, drove in a team-high 22 RBIs and scored 16 runs. He also took 11 of his 19 walks for the season in conference play.

Cushing has a .977 fielding percentage for the season, with a 1.000 fielding percentage in BIG EAST play.

This is Cushing's second post-season award from the BIG EAST, earning All-BIG EAST First Team in 2022.

Third baseman Grant Stephenson, a junior from Algonac, Mich., picked up All-BIG EAST Second Team honors.

Stephenson has played in 53 games, starting in 50, with a .254 average at the plate for the season. Among his 45 hits are nine doubles and three home runs. He's driven in 28 RBIs and scored 25 runs on the season.

In conference action, Stephenson played in all 21 games, making 20 starts, and had a .313 batting average, with three doubles and a pair of home runs among his 20 hits. He drove in 18 RBIs, second most on the team in league play, and scored 13 runs. Seven of Stephenson's 13 walks came during BIG EAST play.

Defensively, Stephenson has a .960 fielding percentage for the season, with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in BIG EAST play.

ALL-BIG EAST

Player of the Year
Dominic Freeberger, UConn, Gr., 3B

Pitcher of the Year
Jake Bloss, Georgetown, Gr., RHP

Freshman of the Year
Joey Urban, Butler, Fr., OF

Coaching Staff of the Year
Seton Hall, Head coach Rob Sheppard

All-BIG EAST First Team *
Stephen Quigley, UConn, Gr., SP
^ Jake Bloss, Georgetown, Gr., SP
Nick Payero, Seton Hall, Gr., SP
Brant Alazaus, Xavier, Sr., SP
Zach Fogell, UConn, Gr., RP
Matthew DePrey, Xavier, Jr., C
Ben Huber, UConn, Gr., 1B
Michael Eze, Georgetown, Jr., 2B
Max Viera, Seton Hall, Jr., SS
Dominic Freeberger, UConn, Gr., 3B
Staus Pokrovsky, Seton Hall, R-Jr., DH
Jake Studley, UConn, Gr., OF
Ubaldo Lopez, Georgetown, Gr., OF
Devin Hack, Seton Hall, R-Jr., OF
Andrew Walker, Xavier, Sr., OF

All-BIG EAST Second Team (Alphabetical) *
Luke Broadhurst, UConn, Gr., DH
David Smith, UConn, Jr., 2B
Jack Grace, Creighton, Sr., OF
Hogan Helligso, Creighton, So., C
Owen Carapellotti, Georgetown, So., C
Jake Hyde, Georgetown, Jr., OF
Austin Kretzschmar, Georgetown, Gr., SS
David Glancy, St. John's, R-Jr., OF
Aaron Mann, St. John's, Gr., 1B
Jonathan Luders, Seton Hall, R-Jr., 2B
Craig Larsen, Villanova, Gr., SS
Ethan Bosacker, Xavier, Sr., SP
Jared Cushing, Xavier, Sr., 2B
Justin Loer, Xavier, So. RP
Matt McCormick, Xavier, Sr., 1B
Grant Stephenson, Xavier, Jr., 3B

^Denotes unanimous selection
*Denotes a tie in voting

Schedule

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Players Mentioned

Brant Alazaus

Ethan Bosacker

Jared Cushing

Matthew DePrey

Justin Loer

Matt McCormick

Grant Stephenson

Andrew Walker

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