Benedetti Gathers D1Baseball Preseason All-America Recognition
1/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Jan. 27, 2016
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan baseball player Carmen Benedetti garnered another recognition Wednesday (Jan. 27) after being named to the D1Baseball Preseason All-America third team as both a hitter and a pitcher.
Entering his junior year with the Maize and Blue, Benedetti is just one of three players from the Big Ten to earn a selection to the D1Baseball All-America teams. Mike Shawaryn from Maryland also received a selection to the first team as a pitcher, while Nebraska's Ryan Boldt also received a third seam selection as a hitter.
Benedetti has also been named to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Preseason All-America first team, the Perfect Game Preseason All-America third team and the Baseball America list of College Top 100 Draft Prospects.
Throughout the 2015 season, Benedetti led the Wolverines and the Big Ten in doubles (25) and runs batted in (71). He also earned selections to the All-Big Ten first team and the All-NCAA Louisville Regional team, and finished second in the conference in batting average (.352). The Grosse Pointe, Michigan, native recorded 82 hits on the season, 37 runs scored, two triples and five home runs, while slugging at a .541 clip with a .418 on-base percentage. Benedetti had a 29-game streak in which he reached base during the 2015 campaign in addition to 23 multi-hit games.
As a pitcher, Benedetti had a 1.84 earned-run average with 23 strikeouts in 14.2 innings and three saves in just his first year on the hill. The junior was named the Big Ten Player of the Week on April 20 of last season and was a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy.
Michigan capped off the 2015 season with a 39-25 overall record and its ninth Big Ten Tournament title. The Wolverines also advanced to the championship game of the NCAA Louisville Regional.
So far this preseason, the Wolverines have been ranked in four preseason polls, including a No. 15 ranking in the Baseball America poll (Jan. 25) and No. 23 rankings in both the Perfect Game (Jan. 13) and the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper preseason polls (Dec. 21). In each of those polls, Michigan has been predicted as the top finisher in the Big Ten Conference.
The Maize and Blue will jumpstart its 2016 campaign with a trip to Florida (Feb. 19-21) to take on Canisius in a four-game neutral-site series.
• D1Baseball Preseason All-America List
Communications Contact: Katie Gwinn
