All-American Getz Among Three All-Region Selections
6/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan junior second baseman Chris Getz (Grosse Pointe, Mich./South HS) was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings All-America second team as announced by the ABCA.
Meanwhile, the Wolverines had three members named to the 2005 ABCA and Rawlings All-Mideast Region team including fifth-year senior RHP Jim Brauer (Carmel, Ind./Carmel HS) and Getz on the ABCA all-region first team and senior/junior catcher Jeff Kunkel (Oak Forest, Ill./Oak Forest HS) named to the second team.
Getz and Brauer were both All-Big Ten Conference first team selections the past two seasons and both were named to the all-tournament team at the Big Ten Tournament (May 25-29) in Champaign, Ill. Kunkel was a second team All-Big Ten selection. Getz also earned all-tournament honors at the NCAA Atlanta Regional (June 3-6).
Getz, winner of the Bill Freehan Award as the top offensive player for the Wolverines, shared the team lead with a .386 (88-for-228) batting average while also leading the team in runs scored (58) and stolen bases (29). He finished his Wolverine career with a .374 batting average to rank third on U-M's all-time list, and he had at least one hit in 85 of his last 100 games. Getz was named NCAA Division I District V Player of the Year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Brauer, the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, was 7-2 as a senior co-captain with 86 strikeouts and a Big Ten-leading 2.54 earned run average while pitching 110.0 innings. He earned the Geoff Zahn Award as Michigan's Most Valuable Pitcher for the second straight season. Brauer, who was 14-3 in his final 17 decisions as a Wolverine, became just the second U-M pitcher to work more than 300 innings as he finished second on U-M's all-time innings pitched list at 302.2. Brauer finished fourth in career strikeouts at Michigan with 237.
Kunkel, named winner of the Ray Fisher Award as Michigan's Most Valuable Player, hit .384 (73-for-190) and he was also named winner of the Ted Sizemore Award as the top defensive player for the Wolverines. Kunkel made just five errors in more than 300 chances to field .994 while sharing the Big Ten lead with seven pickoffs. Kunkel was one of 10 semifinalists -- and the lone Big Ten representative -- for the Johnny Bench Award given to the top catcher in the nation.
Getz was selected in the fourth round of the 2005 Major League First-Year Player Draft by the Chicago White Sox, while Brauer was taken by Florida in the eighth round and Kunkel was drafted by Detroit in the 37th round. Getz plays for the Great Falls White Sox roster in the Pioneer League, Brauer pitches for Jamestown in the New York Penn League, and Kunkel is expected to return to the Wolverines in 2006.
Contact: Jim Schneider (734) 763-4423
