Rust College Bearcat Jalin Thomas Recognized as 2023 NAIA Baseball Honorable Mention All-American

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced its 2022-23 baseball All-America teams as selected by the NAIA Baseball Coaches’ All-America Selection Committee, which includes Player and Pitcher of the Year on June 6th.

Rust College standout junior catcher, Jalin Thomas, has been named an NAIA Honorable Mention All-American. In 159 at bats, Thomas scored 25 runs with 57 hits, 18 doubles, 5 triples, 8 home runs and 44 runs batted in. In 48 games, Thomas recorded a .358 batting average and a .480 on base percentage.

Thomas led the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) with 26 hits, 10 doubles, 4 triples, tied for third in home runs with 2 and tied for the lead in runs batted in with 22. In fielding, Thomas recorded 246 putouts in 266 total chances for a .985 fielding percentage.

Thomas is the first Rust College baseball player to be recognized with this honor.

His explosive offensive production aided the team to a 25-25 overall record and 14-4 in the GCAC while guiding the Bearcats to the conference championship game, a nationally No. 9 ranking in Black College Nines “small school” Top 10 HBCU Baseball Poll and a return trip to the 2023 Black College World Series for the third consecutive year.

Thomas was also a First Team Black College Nines’ Small School Elite team selection for the 2023 season.

The first and second teams are recognized as ABCA/Rawlings All-Americans by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings Sporting Goods. The ABCA began recognizing All-Americans in 1949 and named the first ABCA NAIA All-America team in 1969.

FIRST TEAM      
Name School Year Position
Max Harper Cumberlands (Ky.) Sr. 1B
Jhors Gomez Southwestern Christian (Okla.) So. 2B
Will McCall Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) Gr. 3B
Isaac Nunez Southeastern (Fla.) Jr. SS
Lucas Goodin Indiana Wesleyan Sr. INF
Ajay Sczepkowski Georgia Gwinnett Jr. OF
Jon Ponder Georgia Gwinnett Jr. OF
Ryan Major LSU Shreveport (La.) Sr. OF
Greyson Barrett Texas Wesleyan Sr. OF
Charlie Muniz Cumberlands (Ky.) So. C
Antonio Fernandez McPherson (Kan.) Sr. C
Eli Davis Oklahoma City Sr. P
Darien Smith Southeastern (Fla.) Jr. P
Michael Watson Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) Jr. P
Tyler Bryant Ottawa (Kan.) Sr. P
Reece Wissinger Southeastern (Fla.) So. RP
Cole Turney Cumberland (Tenn.) Sr. DH

 

SECOND TEAM      
Name School Year Position
Drew Fleming Concordia (Mich.) Jr. 1B
Langston Ginder Huntington (Ind.) Gr. 2B
Bryson Lofton Bryan (Tenn.) So. 3B
Jarrett Gable Kansas Wesleyan Sr. SS
Jaidan Quinn Concordia (Neb.) Jr. INF
Eric Maffie St. Francis (Ill.) Gr. OF
Joey Grabanski Concordia (Neb.) Jr. OF
RJ Stinson William Carey (Miss.) Jr. OF
Anthony Sharkas Madonna (Mich.) Jr. OF
Angel Mendoza Union (Ky.) Sr. C
Jayson Willers Morningside (Iowa) So. C
Anthony Green Missouri Baptist Jr. P
Alan West Central Methodist (Mo.) Sr. P
Bobby Vath LSU Shreveport (La.) So. P
Tyson Kleinfelter Concordia (Mich.) Gr. P
Jack Ross Taylor (Ind.) Jr. RP
Cayden Nicoletto Columbia (Mo.) So. DH

 

HONORABLE MENTION
Name School Year Position
Blane Besse Missouri Baptist Sr. OF
Uly Duran Westcliff (Calif.) Gr. 1B
Jonah Hultberg College of Idaho Jr. 2B
Max Jung-Goldberg Hope International (Calif.) Sr. 1B
Jalin Thomas Rust (Miss.) Jr. C
Robbie Merced Central Methodist (Mo.) Sr. SS
Kanta Kobayashi Bellevue (Neb.) Sr. OF
Jared Campbell Point Park (Pa.) So. OF
Cameron Repetti Georgia Gwinnett So. P
Andrew Herbert Reinhardt (Ga.) So. P
Mikito Barkman Benedictine Mesa (Ariz.) Jr. P
Sean Heppner Brirish Columbia (B.C.) So. P
Jake Ostrowski Trinity Christian (Ill.) Sr. P
Graham Kollen Huntington (Ind.) So. P
Aaron Forrest Doane (Neb.) Jr. P
Hector Garcia Hope International (Calif.) Jr. P
Dustin Schorie Bellevue (Neb.) Jr. P
Mychal Grogan Thomas More (Ky.) Jr. P
Sam Tyrpa Dakota State (N.D.) So. P
Lucas Letsinger IU Kokomo (Ind.) So. P
Andrew Shirah William Carey (Miss.) Jr. P
Bryan Peck Westmont (Calif.) So. P
Johnny Blake Clarke (Iowa) Jr. P
Garrett Hill IU Southeast (Ind.) Jr. RP
Gage Bihm LSU Shreveport (La.) So. RP
Cesar Avila Cumberlands (Ky.) Jr. RP
JD Kirchner Dakota State (N.D.) Jr. RP
Tyner Hughes Cumberland (Tenn.) Jr. INF
Trevor Campbell IU Southeast (Ind.) Gr. SS
Tucker Musgrove Mobile (Ala.) Jr. INF
Peyton McDowall Science and Arts (Okla.) Sr. 1B
Arturo Disla Wayland Baptist (Texas) So. INF
Landon Rogers Tennessee Southern So. OF
Jake Lycette William Carey (Miss.) Jr. 1B

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *