June 13, 2006

A record five Conference USA players have been named to the 2006 Baseball America First Team All-American squad, occupying six different positions, the publication announced on Tuesday. An additional C-USA standout was listed on the third team, giving C-USA six total players on the Baseball America All-American teams.

Houston junior pitcher/designated hitter Brad Lincoln, the 2006 Conference USA Pitcher of the Year, was named to the first team as both a pitcher and a utility player. He becomes the first C-USA player to earn first team All-America honors at two positions in the same season. A trio of Rice players: senior right-hander Eddie Degerman, sophomore lefthander Cole St.Clair and sophomore shortstop Brian Friday were listed on the first team, along with C-USA Player of the Year Mark Hamilton of Tulane. Rice junior third baseman Josh Rodriguez was named to the third team.

Lincoln emerged as one of the nation's finest all-around players in 2006. He compiled a sparkling 12-2 record with a 1.69 ERA and 152 strikeouts in 127.2 innings of work. Those numbers were even better in C-USA games only where he assembled a 7-0 record with a 1.28 ERA. Lincoln's strikeout total ranked as the third-best mark in UH single-season history and moved him into third in UH career history with 293 punchouts. He was named a C-USA Pitcher of the Week four times during the regular season and was honored as the Pro-Line Cap National Pitcher of the Week after tossing a five-hit shutout with nine strikeouts in the series opener at No. 1 Rice on May 12. However, Lincoln was one of the Cougars' leading hitters all season. In 2006, he compiled a .295 batting average with 14 home runs and a team-leading 53 RBIs.

Degerman has helped the Owls to the College World Series by posting a 13-1 record on the mound with a 1.81 ERA. The senior right-hander has broken the Conference USA single-season record for strikeouts and enters the CWS with 159 K's in 119.2 innings. Degerman is limiting the opposition to a miniscule .174 OBA and has issued only 47 walks all season. He has won a pair of NCAA Tournament games, combining for 23 strikeouts in victories over Baylor and Oklahoma.

St.Clair has come out of the Owls' bullpen to earn 11 saves, compile a 6-2 record and maintain a 1.82 ERA in 69.1 innings of work. He has struck out 94 batters to rank third in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings at 12.8. The runner-up for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year, given to the nation's top relief pitcher, St.Clair has one of his longest appearances of the season (5.1 innings) in Monday's Super Regional game three, holding Oklahoma at bay to help the Owls to their fifth College World Series in 10 years.

A first team All-Conference USA selection, Friday has led the top-ranked Owls by batting .365 this season, with 21 doubles and 64 runs scored, in 66 starts. The sophomore shortstop batted .467 in C-USA games, second-highest ever in league history, with a .856 slugging percentage in league play. Defensively, he has been steady in the field and started or turned 38 of the team's 58 double plays.

Hamilton, the 2006 Conference USA Player of the Year, has started all 60 games for the Green Wave, leading the team in home runs (18) and RBI (64). He is batting .338 with a team-best .639 slugging percentage and a .462 on-base percentage. Hamilton has hit 12 doubles, leads the team in multiple-RBI games with 18 and has recorded two or more hits on 24 occasions.

Rodriguez has been one of the most productive players in C-USA all season long. A second team All-Conference selection, he ranks in the top 10 of nearly every statistical category, including batting (.346), slugging percentage (.585), hits (85) runs scored (60), doubles (20), home runs (11), RBI (64) walks (41) and total bases (144).

All four of the draft-eligible players named to Baseball America's team were taken in the first four rounds of last week's Major League Baseball draft. Lincoln was taken fourth overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates, the highest that a UH or C-USA player has ever been taken. Rodriguez and Hamilton each went in the second round, to the Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Cardinals, respectively, while the Cardinals selected Degerman in the fourth round.

For more information, please visit www.baseballamerica.com.