Designated hitter Colton Shaver of BYU was named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team selected by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper on Wednesday.
Shaver led the Cougars with 13 home runs, hitting a pair of homers twice against Utah and once at Utah Valley University, Saint Mary's College and the University of San Francisco. Shaver had a .314 batting average, a .598 slugging percentage, was named to the West Coast Conference All-Freshman Team and was the Rawlings WCC Player of the Week for his play against USF.
"I'm so excited for Colton," BYU coach Mike Littlewood said. "The average fan sees the home runs that Colton hit, but he did so much more for this team than just hit home runs. I believe he gave Dillon (Robinson) the opportunity to have a great year at the plate by protecting him all year long. Colton also gave us depth behind the plate, and he worked extremely hard to improve his trade at the plate, behind the plate and at first base. This honor is well deserved and we appreciate Louisville Slugger for recognizing Colton."
The 6-foot freshman from Riverton played some at first base and catcher but saw the bulk of playing time as BYU's starting DH in 53 games. He also handled bullpen catching duties.
Sean Watkins of Loyola Marymount University, Zack Kirtley of Saint Mary's College and Shaver were the only WCC players named to the Freshman All-America team. Shaver joins teammate Mason Marshall who was a Freshman All-American in 2012. In 2013, BYU's Jacob Hannemann was also named to the Freshman All-America team.
Ralph R. Zobell has worked for BYU Athletic Media Relations in various capacities for over 30 years. You can view his bio at byucougars.com/staff/athletics/ralph-zobell or contact him at ralph_zobell@byu.edu.