Senior outfielder Rob Dickinson was named Big South Player of the Year Monday, leading three Keydets that received awards from the conference at the league’s postseason banquet in Lynchburg, Va. Matt Winn earned Second Team All-Big South honors, while Drew Bryan was VMI’s representative on the league’s all-academic team.
Dickinson (Richmond, Va./Douglas Freeman) became VMI’s first baseball player of the year ever, regardless of conference affiliation, after capping one of the best seasons in VMI baseball history Saturday. The senior finished his final campaign with a .399 batting average, the highest by a Keydet since 1988. Heading into the weekend, he ranked in the top-50 in Division I in batting average, hits and total bases, and did so in spite of having had just one at-bat since April 28 due to a nagging shoulder injury. Dickinson did, however, start both of the season’s final two games and wound up batting with a .401 average in his final at-bat Saturday, an at-bat that ended in a groundout to account for his final numbers.
Going into Tuesday’s Big South Tournament, Dickinson ranked in the top three in the Big South in seven different categories and remained the leader in batting average and total bases (118) despite the aforementioned injury. He finished with 79 hits, the fourth-most in Keydet single season history, and his total bases count was tied for ninth-most in program annals. Dickinson wrapped up his career in the top 10 in program history in 10 different categories, including games played (tied for first), hits (fourth) and total bases (fifth). The Keydet won the voting with four first-place votes and 20 total points, leading Jeff Kemp of Radford, who had two first place markers and 17 points.
“I’m very proud of Rob for earning this honor,” said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. “This is a true tribute to how hard he’s worked and the strides he made every day as a college player. Rob may have played harder than anyone I’ve ever coached, and it was a great honor to coach such a hard worker. Today is a great day for Rob Dickinson and for VMI baseball.”
Winn earned All-Big South Second Team honors, becoming only the second Keydet catcher to earn the honor (Alex Haitsuka) since the program joined the conference for the 2005 season. The redshirt sophomore finished the year tied for most runners caught stealing in the conference (21), despite ranking only seventh in steal attempts against (51). He nabbed 41.2% of runners trying to steal, and excelled at the plate as well. He had a VMI season-high 15-game hitting streak that lasted March 26 – April 19, and wound up hitting .333, eighth in the Big South, with two home runs. He also finished fourth in the league in on-base percentage at .449, thanks in part to being hit 14 times.
In addition, sophomore Drew Bryan was named to the conference’s all-academic team, which brought the Keydets back on to the academic squad. VMI did not have a representative in 2012, a season in which they had 14 first-year players, as first-year competitors are not eligible for the Big South All-Academic team.
Below is the complete list of Big South All-Conference honorees.
First-Team All-Conference
OF: Rob Dickinson, VMI
OF: Bobby Ison, Charleston Southern
OF: Ben McQuown, Campbell
1B: Spencer Angelis, High Point
2B: Michael Felton, Campbell
3B: Elijah Trail, Campbell
Alex Owens, Longwood
SS: Jeff Kemp, Radford
C: Trey Wimmer. Liberty
DH: Zack Hagaman, Charleston Southern
SP: Ryan Mattes, Campbell
SP: Ben Smith, Coastal Carolina
SP: Matt Fraudin, Gardner-Webb
RP: Ryan Thompson, Campbell
Second Team All-Conference
OF: Jacob May, Coastal Carolina
OF: Ryan Retz, High Point
OF: Clayton Brown, Campbell
1B: Brad Zebedis, Presbyterian
2B: Bryan Aanderud, Liberty
3B: Chad Smith, Winthrop
SS: Brent Graham, Campbell
C: Will Remillard, Coastal Carolina
Matt Winn, VMI
DH: David Olson, Campbell
SP: Jacob Newberry, High Point
SP: Heath Bowers, Campbell
SP: Tory Schroff, Charleston Southern
RP: Ryan Connolly, Coastal Carolina
All-Academic Team
Justin Creel, Coastal Carolina
Brad Zebedis, Presbyterian College
Andrew Barnett, Gardner-Webb
Trey Lambert, Liberty
David Olson, Campbell
Alex Tomasovich, Charleston Southern
Will Resnik, High Point
Max Vogel, Winthrop
Tyler Costello, Radford
Dillon Tabar, UNC Asheville
Drew Bryan, VMI
Brandon Vick, Longwood
Player of the Year
Rob Dickinson, VMI
Pitcher of the Year
Ryan Thompson, Campbell
Freshman of the Year
Seth Lamando, Coastal Carolina
Co-Scholar-Athletes of the Year
Justin Creel, Coastal Carolina
Brad Zebedis, Presbyterian College
Coach of the Year
Greg Goff, Campbell
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