The Liberty League has announced its 2021 All-League awards for baseball as voted by league's head coaches. The major award winners and all-league teams are listed below.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Aaron Whitley, Sophomore, Outfielder, University of Rochester
University of Rochester sophomore Aaron Whitley was selected the Liberty League Player of the Year. All season long, Whitley was a force for the Yellowjackets at the plate with a team and league-best batting average of .464. In 30 games played, he paced Rochester and the league in numerous categories—runs (45), hit (51), doubles (18), triples (five), total bases (91) and stolen bases (27). He was also tops in the conference in on-base percentage and second in slugging percentage at .566 and .827 respectively. Whitley, the Most Outstanding Performer of the Liberty League Baseball Championship, was also second on the team in runs batted in (33), good for fourth among league leaders. He had 19 multi-hit games on the season, including a five-hit game on May 1st, which tied the Rochester single-game hits record. In addition to his offensive prowess, Whitley was nearly perfect along the base paths with 27 stolen bases in 29 attempts (0.931). From the outfield, he was 43-for-43 for a 1.000 fielding percentage and he recorded two outfield assists on the year.
PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Ryan Yerby, Senior, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
RPI senior pitcher Ryan Yerby was named the Liberty League Pitcher of the Year. Due to COVID-19 campus restrictions, the Engineers were not able to begin their 2021 season until April 23 and Yerby made his limited time on the mound count. The senior ace led RPI’s pitching staff with a 2-0 record and 3.60 earned run average in four starts. He recorded two complete games, one of which was the program’s 12th no-hitter in school history on May 11. In 20.0 innings, he allowed 13 hits, struck out 20, walked 11 and held opponents to a .186 batting average, which was best among Liberty League pitchers.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: John Moses, Catcher, University of Rochester
University of Rochester’s John Moses was recognized as the Liberty League Rookie of the Year. Moses bolstered the Yellowjackets’ lineup from the plate this season with a .458 batting average, second among league leaders to teammate Whitley. Moses was atop the conference’s leaderboard in runs batted in (37) while ranking second in hits (49) and doubles (16). The four-time Liberty League Rookie of the Week selection also produced 32 runs, 83 total bases, four home runs and three triples to go along with a .776 slugging percentage and .512 on-base percentage. Moses, the catcher for the Yellowjackets, also anchored the team from behind the place and defensively he was 108-for-110, compiling a .982 fielding percentage with 96 putouts and 12 assists on the year.
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: University of Rochester – Head Coach Joe Reina; Assistant Coach Justin Johnson
University of Rochester head coach Joe Reina and assistant coach Justin Johnson garnered Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year accolades. They directed the 2021 Yellowjackets squad to a 24-8 overall record and a 16-2 mark in league play as the team earned its third straight Liberty League regular season title. It was also the third time Rochester was the No. 1 seed in the Liberty League tournament. Rochester won both the semifinal (13-8) and championship (19-4) games in resounding fashion and were crowned Liberty League champions for the second consecutive season. As a team, the Yellowjackets boasted a league-best .356 batting average to go with 390 hits, 313 runs, 26 home runs, 94 doubles, 19 triples and 270 runs batted in this season. Next up for Rochester will be the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament, where the Yellowjackets will make their fifth-ever appearance (1980, 1989, 1999, 2019 and now, 2021).
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE FIRST TEAM:
P- Dillon Bevan, Fr., Rochester
P- Kyle Lambert, Jr., Ithaca
P- James Salemme, Jr., Union
P/1B - Buzz Shirley, Gr., Ithaca
P- Ryan Yerby, Sr., RPI
RP- Thomas Karpishin, So., Rochester
C- John Moses, So., Rochester
2B- Joseph Rende, Jr., Rochester
SS- Colin Kelly, Sr., Union
3B- Jack Koch, Sr., Union
OF- Nicholas Butler, Jr., St. Lawrence
OF- Garrett Callaghan, Sr., Ithaca
OF- Aaron Whitley, So., Rochester
DH- Ezra Caspi, So., Vassar
UT- Daniel Capra, Gr., RIT
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE SECOND TEAM:
P- Daniel Capra, Gr., RIT
P- Patrick Fitzgerald, Sr., Vassar
P- Ben Mlavsky, So., Union
P- Thomas Quinn, Fr., Skidmore
RP- Cameron Morrissey, Sr., St. Lawrence
C- Matt Toy, Sr., Union
1B- Kent Wilson, So., Clarkson
2B- Louis Fabbo, Fr., Ithaca
SS- James Cronin, Sr., St. Lawrence
3B- Spencer Checkoway, Jr., Bard
OF- Richard Drum, Sr., RPI
OF- Josh Leadem, Fr., Rochester
OF- Mike Mieczkowski, Sr., Clarkson
DH- Colby Brouillette, So., Clarkson
UT- Alex Warren, So., Vassar
ALL-LIBERTY LEAGUE HONORABLE MENTION:
P- Andrew Matthews, Jr., St. Lawrence
P- Matt McGannon, Sr., Vassar
P- Collin Reformat, Sr., RIT
RP-Garrett Bell, So., Ithaca
RP- Thomas Neuman, Sr., RPI
1B- Steve Pickering, Sr., Rochester
2B- Joey Palko, Sr., Union
2B- Joe Stockman, Gr., Clarkson
3B- Jacob Matzat, Jr., Rochester
OF- Ian Libby, Jr., RIT
OF- Jordan Myers, Sr., Bard
DH- Harper Sy, Jr., Rochester