JMU’s Chad Carroll a semifinalist for Gregg Olson Award

Sophomore outfielder Chad Carroll (Oakton, Va./Oakton) was named Wednesday by College Baseball Lineup as one of 46 semifinalists for the awarding of the first Gregg Olson Award as the national Breakout Player of the Year.

Carroll was named First Team All-CAA Tuesday evening after finishing as JMU’s leader in hits (70), RBIs (54), total bases (109) and steals (20).  He leads the nation with eight triples and ranked second for the Dukes with a .393 batting average and a .612 slugging percentage.  He also added 43 runs scored, 14 doubles and three home runs.  His .393 average and 1.13 RBIs per game are both top 20 in the nation.

Carroll’s “breakout” took hold from the early stages of the season as he took over full-time duties in left field in the second week of the season.  He immediately embarked upon a 16-game hitting streak, batting .443 with 25 RBIs in that span. It was one of two career-long 16-game streaks for Carroll this year. He led JMU with 23 multiple-hit games and was second with 11 multiple-RBI games.

That performance followed a freshman season in which he hit .279, more than 100 points below this year’s .393 average.  Playing as JMU’s starting shortstop, he had 55 hits with six doubles, two triples and one home run while scoring 33 runs and 28 RBIs.  Carroll posted a .345 slugging percentage as a freshman compared to this year’s .612 mark and had a .360 on-base percentage compared to his .442 mark this year.  He also stole 13 bases and was recognized on the CAA All-Rookie Team.

Carroll was one of four Colonial Athletic Association representatives on the list of 46 semifinalists.  He was joined by UNCW’s Ryan LaGrange, Georgia State’s Chad Prain and Old Dominion Ben Verlander.