LANCASTER, PA- The 2023 Centennial Conference baseball All-Centennial teams have been released and seven Blue Jays have earned a spot on this year's teams, it was announced this morning. Seven selections is tied for the second most in program history and it is the sixth time there has been seven players selected.
Cooper Wins Player of the Year
Matthew Cooper became the first Blue Jay to be named as the Centennial Conference Player of the Year since Connor Reynolds in 2017. Cooper becomes the 13th player in school history to earn the honor. In addition, Cooper made the All-Centennial team for the second time, with this year being his first first team selection. Cooper is the conference's triple crown leader with a .456 average, 21 homers and 57 RBI's. His 21 homers are a school and conference record for the most home runs in a single season and he currently ranks second in the NCAA in long balls. Cooper has four multi-homer games this season and he is second in the country in slugging percentage (.980). Cooper is also the team leader in hits (67), runs (52) and walks (25). Cooper's RBI total is also climbing the single season ranks in program history with his 57 being tied for eighth. Cooper is two home runs shy from tying the career home run record in school history.
Five Others Earn First Team Honors
Kieren Collins earned the second First Team All-Centennial selection of his career after a solid season on the mound. Collins pitched to a 5-0 record this season with 35 strikeouts in 48 innings pitched. He held opponents to just a .228 average against him and holds a 2.81 ERA to this point in the season. Collins was lights out during the conference schedule with a 0.45 ERA in 20 innings pitched, only allowing one earned run in five appearances. He tossed seven shut out innings in the first round of the Centennial Conference tournament against Haverford to earn the win. In his career at Johns Hopkins, Collins boasts a 15-3 record with a 2.96 ERA in 146 innings pitched.
Shawn Steuerer was a First Team All-Centennial selection for his superb display at the plate and at third base this season. Steuerer improved upon a .393 freshman season with a .414 average with 12 homers and 45 RBI's to help the Blue Jays win their 17th Centennial Conference championship. In the conference tournament, Steuerer went 9-for-17 with two long balls and five RBI's. Steuerer is tied for first on the team in hits (67) and is second on the team and in the conference in home runs and RBI's. His 67 hits currently rank 18th in school history for the most hits in a single season. His 12 home runs are tied for the 10th most in school history in a single season. Steuerer is tied for the team lead in multi-hit games with 22 and he leads the team in three-hit performances with nine.
Gabe Romano was a First Team All-Centennial selection after a strong season as the ace of the Blue Jays pitching staff. Romano has pitched to a 9-0 record and has the lowest ERA for starting pitchers on the team at 1.66. Romano threw the first complete game of the season for JHU pitching in the conference semi-final against Franklin and Marshall in a 5-1 win. Romano punched out a career-high 10 batters and only gave up one run on six hits over the nine innings. On the season, Romano has 51 strikeouts while only walking nine hitters all year and holding opponents to just a .224 batting average. Romano is one of just four pitchers in the country to have at least nine wins without taking a single loss. Romano has earned three wins and a no decision in four starts against top 15 opponents this season. His 1.66 ERA is currently the 16th lowest in the country this season.
Alex Shane capped off a great freshman campaign with a First Team All-Centennial selection and became the seventh freshman in school history to make the all-conference team. Shane finished second on the team and in the conference in batting average (.436) and had 12 extra-base hits and 27 RBI's. Shane only had two games that he started this season where he went hitless and is third on the team with 17 multi-hit games. Shane joins John Christ as the only other First Team All-Centennial selection in program history as a freshman.
Sam Frank rounded out the first team selections for the Blue Jays, earning the nod at catcher. Frank currently holds a .362 batting average with 15 doubles, 10 homers and 30 RBI's. Frank is currently riding an 18-game hit streak, which is the longest by any one on the team this season. In addition, Frank has reached base safely at least once in all 33 games he has played in this season. Since April 4th, Frank's batting average has climbed over 115 points to now have the fourth highest average on the team this year.
Keever Earns Spot on Second Team
Ben Keever earned Second Team All-Centennial honors for his performance out of the bullpen for Johns Hopkins this season. In 15 appearances, Keever has logged 23.2 innings with a 2.66 ERA and 32 strikeouts. Keever had a scoreless innings streak that reached 11 earlier in the season and has struck out three or more batters in six of his appearances.
Each team in the conference has one player that gets selected to the All-Sportsmanship team. The Blue Jays member who was on the team was junior second baseman Jimmy Stevens.
Up Next
Johns Hopkins will find out who they will face in the NCAA Regional next Monday at noon when the bracket gets announced.
