Virginia junior Jake McCarthy (Scranton, Pa.) added Second Team All-America honors from Baseball America to his list of preseason accolades. He is already a the first team member of D1Baseball.com’s All-America squad and is a second team honoree by Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game.
In addition, Baseball America tabbed McCarthy as the fastest runner on its list of players across the country with the best tools.
He joined Clemson’s Seth Beer, Wake Forest’s Johnny Aiello and Duke’s Griffin Conine on D1Baseball.com’s First Team last week. He was one of seven ACC players to be recognized by Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America on the first and second teams.
McCarthy enjoyed a breakout sophomore campaign for the Cavaliers, starting all 59 games in 2017. He was second on the team with 80 hits and batted .338 with five home runs and 36 RBIs. McCarthy proved to be one of the top base-stealing threats in the country, leading the ACC and ranking ninth in the nation with 27 stolen bases.
He collected seven triples on last season, one shy of matching UVA’s single-season record.
Over the summer, McCarthy split time with the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team and the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod League. Team USA won 15 of its 20- summer circuit. McCarthy saw action in all 20 games with 14 starts. In nine games with Harwich, McCarthy produced 12 hits in 31 at bats (.387). He scored 11 runs and swiped five bases in his short stint.
Virginia opens its 2018 season on Friday, Feb. 16 at UCF. The Cavaliers will open up their home slate on Feb. 20 against VMI as part of a 10-game home stand.
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Chris Graham
