Park, Miller, Iwasaki are toast of the Great West

By HEATHER KENNEDY
UNCBears.com

NEWARK, N.J. -- The Great West Conference and the website CollegeSportsMadness.com released their 2013 all-conference baseball teams Monday, and Northern Colorado was well-represented on both.

Bears sophomore Jensen Park (Kaneohe, Hawai'i) was honored as the league's Player of the Year by the conference coaches, while junior Nick Miller (Loveland, Colo.) was tabbed Player of the Year by the website devoted to college sports.

Northern Colorado coach Carl Iwasaki was also honored as the Great West Coach of the Year by his peers and College Sports Madness after leading the Bears to their first Great West regular-season title. Northern Colorado was chosen fifth in the GWC preseason poll but posted a 20-7 league record in Iwasaki's third season in Greeley.

Northern Colorado junior first baseman Colby Harrison (Cheyenne, Wyo.) was named to both all-conference first teams, and junior right-handed pitcher Kevin Willman (Aurora, Colo.) earned a first-team nod from the Great West and second-team spot from College Sports Madness.

Sophomore Ryan Yamane (Honolulu) earned a second-team spot from the coaches.

Park, who was also a first-team website selection, leads the Great West with a .393 batting average and 72 hits, including an average of .421 in conference-only games with a .570 slugging percentage.

This is the second straight season he's been honored by the league office, after he was a Second Team pick in 2012 as a true freshman.

Miller, who earned a second-team honor from the coaches. ranks third in the conference in hitting (.354), and he also leads the league in RBIs (48) and ranks second in slugging percentage (.526).

Harrison enters the Great West Conference Tournament ranked second in the league in batting average (.355) and first in fielding percentage (1.000, 405 attempts), after being honored a season ago on the Great West All-Conference Second Team as a designated hitter.

Willman led the Great West with a school-record nine saves this season, and Yamane is hitting at a .302 clip for the year with 55 hits, 10 doubles and 32 runs scored. He has also drawn 27 walks, which is second best on the team and is 6 for 9 in stolen bases.

The Great West Pitcher of the Year honors went to Texas-Pan American's Sam Street, who also earned Newcomer of the Year honors by the Great West.

The Bears begin the Great West Conference Tournament on Tuesday against Chicago State. First pitch is scheduled for 10:15 a.m. MT, or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the 7 a.m. contest.

2013 ALL-GREAT WEST CONFERENCE BASEBALL TEAM

Player of the Year -- Jensen Park, Northern Colorado
Pitcher of the Year -- Sam Street, Texas-Pan American
Newcomer of the Year -- Sam Street, Texas-Pan American
Coach of the Year -- Carl Iwasaki, Northern Colorado

First Team

1B Colby Harrison, Northern Colorado *
2B Ali Rodriguez, NYIT
3B Mattingly Romanin, Chicago State
SS Kai Hatch, Utah Valley ***
DH Stephan Halibej, NJIT
OF Luke Clements, Houston Baptist
OF Jake Gonzalez, Houston Baptist *
OF Jensen Park, Northern Colorado *
UT Alberto Morales, Texas-Pan American
C Taylor Petersen, North Dakota
SP Mark Leiter, Jr., NJIT
SP Ryan Lower, Houston Baptist
SP Sam Street, Texas-Pan American
RP Kevin Willman, Northern Colorado

Second Team

1B Mark Krueger, Utah Valley
2B Riley Goulding, Texas-Pan American
3B Ryan Reese, North Dakota
SS Ryan Yamane, Northern Colorado
OF Ed Charlton, NJIT
OF Alex Howe, Texas-Pan AmericanOF Riley White, Utah Valley
UT Nick Miller, Northern Colorado
C Chris Torres, Texas-Pan American
SP Dusten Knight, Texas-Pan American
SP Andrew Thome, North Dakota *
SP Alex Twenge, North Dakota
RP Jeff Barto, Utah Valley
RP Justin Campbell, Utah Valley