by MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – University of South Alabama baseball right-hander Kevin Hill (Muscogee Creek Nation) was named third-team All-America by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association on Wednesday.
The NCBWA’s selection of Hill marks the second organization to name him an All-American after he garnered Louisville Slugger first-team All-America honors fromCollegiate Baseball earlier this month. Hill was also voted a third-team All-American by the NCBWA last season.
Hill (8-2) became the first player in Sun Belt Conference history to twice earn the league’s Pitcher of the Year award after earning the honor for the second consecutive season this year. He was also a first-team all-SBC selection after leading the conference in strikeouts (126) for the second straight season, while also leading the league in innings pitched (122.2). In addition, Hill was named the SBC Male Student-Athlete of the Year.
He tossed four complete games this season while also combining for one shutout. Hill closed his Jaguar career ranked fourth on the school’s all-time list in career strikeouts (326). He was selected by the Houston Astros in the 25th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft last weekend.
Hill is the first Jaguar pitcher to earn All-America honors in consecutive seasons, and joins Ryan Mulhern (2002-03) as the only players in program history to receive All-America accolades in back-to-back years. He also joins Mulhern and P.J. Walters (2004, ’06) as the only Jaguars to earn All-America honors in multiple seasons.
“We are proud of Kevin and everything he has accomplished here at South Alabama, both athletically and academically,” head coach Mark Calvi said. “He is the ultimate competitor and team guy who will do anything to help his team win, and he is certainly deserving of this recognition. We are super excited for what the future holds for him professionally, and hope he has as much success at the next level as he did during his time as a student-athlete here at the University.”
Hill received his bachelor’s degree from USA in May 2015, and was a member of the Sun Belt Academic Honor Roll during the 2013-14 academic year.
