May 19, 2008

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Miami, the top seed in this week's Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championship, led all schools with eight selections on the 2008 All-ACC Baseball Team and also claimed a pair of individual superlatives, as announced today by Commissioner John Swofford. The honors are selected by a vote of the league's 12 head coaches.

North Carolina featured six all-conference honorees this year, followed by five from Florida State. Georgia Tech and NC State each collected four picks, while Clemson and Virginia placed two apiece. Duke rounded out the 32-member all-conference squads with one representative on the second team.

Florida State's Buster Posey headlines this year's squad as the ACC Player of the Year, while Alex White from North Caroline got the nod for ACC Pitcher of the Year. Posey becomes the second-straight Seminole to garner the league's top accolade and the fifth overall. The junior from Leesburg, Ga., leads the ACC in 10 statistical categories including batting average (.471), hits (96), runs scored (75), runs batted in (68), total bases (175), on-base percentage (.571) and slugging percentage (.858). The first-team recognition is the second straight for the catcher, who was recently named a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award and the Dick Howser Trophy.

Earning his first all-conference certificate, North Carolina's Alex White became the second Tar Heel to be voted Pitcher of the Year. The right-handed hurler made 13 appearances this season, posting an 8-3 record. The sophomore from Greenville, N.C., ranks among the Top 10 in the league averaging 10.47 strikeouts per game and holding opponents to a .236 batting average (sixth best in the ACC). White was among seven pitchers from the conference who made the Revised Watch List for the Brooks Wallace Award in early April.

Miami pitcher Chris Hernandez and Miami head coach Jim Morris became the first Hurricanes to be tabbed for an individual accolade, as Hernandez was named ACC Freshman of the Year and Morris was voted ACC Coach of the Year.

A first-team All-ACC selection, Hernandez started in 13 games for the Hurricanes and boasts a perfect 10-0 mark as the starting pitcher. The southpaw rookie from Miami, Fla., paces the ACC in wins (10) and stands in second with a 2.67 earned run average. He also ranks fourth in innings pitched (84.1) and strikeouts (87). Hernandez, who also appeared on the Brooks Wallace Award Revised Watch List in April, received his first national recognition as Pitcher of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association on April 29.

Morris was voted by his peers for Coach of the Year honors after leading the Hurricanes to a 23-5 ledger in the Coastal Division for both their first overall and divisional titles. Miami, which has been ranked No. 1 in the nation since April 7, will enter this week's ACC Championship for the fourth year in a row seeking its first league crown. Earlier this month, Morris became the sixth head skipper to reach a coaching milestone this year as he recorded his 200th ACC victory on May 9 defeating Virginia Tech 12-4 on the road.

2008 ALL-ATLANTIC COAST CONFERENCE BASEBALL TEAMS

Player of the Year - Buster Posey, Florida State
Pitcher of the Year - Alex White, North Carolina
Freshman of the Year - Chris Hernandez, Miami
Coach of the Year - Jim Morris, Miami