Three C-USA Players Named to ABCA All-American Team

Greg Bunn

The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) has released its annual All-American teams and Conference USA is represented by three players on the squads. East Carolina RHP Greg Bunn and DH/OF Ryan Jones are joined by Tulane utility player Brian Bogusevic as second team All-American selections.

Bunn was named the 2004 Conference USA Pitcher of the Year. The converted closer from the 2003 season started 17 games for the Pirates. Opponents hit a league-low .191 against him and registered a conference-best 117 strikeouts in 105.2 innings of work. Bunn closed the year with a 10-1 record and earned wins in five of ECU's nine shutouts on the season.

Jones was named the 2004 Conference USA Player of the Year after hitting .409 heading into the conference tournament and finishing league play hitting .407 in conference. He led the nation in slugging percentage for most of the season, finishing at .823 with 49 of his 86 hits serving as extra-base hits including 26 doubles, four triples and 19 home runs. He posted a team-high 69 RBI and posted 25 multiple hit games and 14 multiple RBI games.

Bogusevic was the top two-way performer in Conference USA this season, standing out both at the plate and on the mound. He led the team in RBI (68), triples (4) and total bases (132) while ranking second in home runs (10) and slugging percentage (.559) and fourth in hitting (.339). On the mound, Bogusevic paced the Green Wave in innings pitched (111.2) and strikeouts (84), finished tied for the team lead in wins (9), and third in ERA (4.19) and opponent batting average (.289).

The ABCA All-America teams are collegiate baseball’s oldest selections, dating to 1949. All Division I coaches have the opportunity to nominate and vote on these selections which are initially compiled into eight All-Region teams. These teams are then finalized into the first, second and third All-America teams by the ABCA’s NCAA Division I All-America Committee. This year, the committee selected 60 players as 2004 ABCA All-Americans.