OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. (June 16, 2011) –  Great West Conference Player of the Year and NYIT starting first baseman Effrey Valdez (Flushing, N.Y.) became the sixth Bear in program history to earn All-America honors as he was named to the ABCA Northeast Region All-America first team, it was announced Thursday.

 

Valdez is the first player in nine years to receive the accolade and joins NYIT’s elite group that includes Al Watson, Fred Leone, Paul Bruno, Jelani Arnold and Tom Merkle.

 

Valdez, a senior from Flushing, N.Y., finished the season ranked second in the nation with a .437 batting average. The clip also was a GWC and NYIT season best. His team-best 80 hits on the season pushed his career total to 320 and set a new NYIT record. For the season, he had 13 home runs, 13 doubles and 39 RBI. He was walked 30 times and was 4-for-7 on the base path. For his efforts, Valdez was also an All-GWC first team and All-Tournament team selection.

 

ABCA All-America First Team
Player School  Pos.  
Effrey Valdez, NYIT  1B  
Dan Paolini, Siena  2B  
Chris Burke, Iona  3B  
Tyler Jones, Long Island  C  
Joe Panik, St. John's  SS  
William Carmona, Stony Brook  DH  
George Springer, UConn  OF  
JJ Edwards, Sacred Heart  OF  
Mark Ornati, Manhattan  OF  
      
Player School  Pos.  
Matt Barnes, UConn  P  
Nick Tropeano, Stony Brook  P  
John Soldinger, Manhattan  P  
Kevin Vance, UConn  RP

ABCA All-America Second Team
Player School  Pos.  
Mike Nemeth, UConn  1B  
Max Tissenbaum, Stony Brook  2B  
Chad Salem, Manhattan  3B  
Sam Mulroy, Princeton  C  
Sean Jamison, Canisius  SS  
James Beck, Iona  DH  
Ricky Pacione, Marist  OF  
Travis Jankowski, Stony Brook  OF  
Mike McCann, Manhattan  OF  
            
Player School  Pos.  
Keith Bilodeau, Maine  P  
Kyle Hansen, St. John's  P  
Troy Scribner, Sacred Heart  P  
Ben Koenigsfeld, Army  RP
 

About NYIT
New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees in more than 90 fields of study, including architecture and design; arts and sciences; education; engineering and computing sciences; health professions; management; and osteopathic medicine. A non-profit independent, private institution of higher education, NYIT has more than 15,000 students attending campuses on Long Island and Manhattan, online, and at its global campuses. NYIT sponsors 11 NCAA Division II programs and one Division I team.

 

Led by President Edward Guiliano, NYIT is guided by its mission to provide career-oriented professional education, offer access to opportunity to all qualified students, and support applications-oriented research that benefits the larger world. To date, 85,000 graduates have received degrees from NYIT. For more information, visit nyit.edu.

 

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Sabrina Polidoro

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Sports Information Director
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spolidor@nyit.edu