Virginia junior outfielder Jake McCarthy (Scranton, Pa.) earned his fifth preseason All-America nod after he was named to the first team by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers of America (NCBWA) on Monday (Feb. 5).
He was one of three players (Johnny Aiello – Wake Forest and Josh Hiatt – North Carolina) from the ACC listed on the First Team by the NCBWA. McCarthy was also a First Team honoree by D1Baseball.com and garnered Second Team accolades from Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game.
McCarthy emerged as one of the top base-stealing threats in the country, swiping an ACC-best, 27 bases, the ninth-most in the country in 2017. He started all 59 games for the Cavaliers as a sophomore and complied 80 hits while batting .338 with five home runs and 36 RBIs. His seven triples as a sophomore were one shy of matching UVA’s single-season record.
In addition to All-America honors, Baseball America tabbed McCarthy as the “fastest runner” on its list of players across the country with the best tools.
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 games during its 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 abbreviated 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
