2019 NCBWA Freshman All-American Teams
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – For the second time in as many weeks, Tennessee Tech designated hitter John Dyer was honored on the national stage, claiming Freshman All-American First Team honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Monday afternoon. The Freshman All-American team is voted upon by the membership of the NCBWA.
In his first go-around in Cookeville, Dyer earned a spot on both the Ohio Valley Conference First Team and OVC All-Freshman Team. The team's designated hitter for the majority of the season, he turned in a .330 average behind 63 hits, 13 doubles and 11 home runs. He ranked second on the team with 54 RBI and wrapped up the year with a .420 on-base percentage and .581 slugging percentage while scoring 41 runs and drawing 23 walks.
With the honor, Dyer became just the second player in program history to earn multiple Freshman All-American accolades, joining departing senior Kevin Strohschein as the only Golden Eagles to earn the honor from the NCBWA.
Last week, the Mt. Juliet native joined a club of seven past Tech rookies to earn Freshman All-American honors (from Collegiate Baseball), including the likes of Zach Stephens (2011), Ryan Flick (2015), Chase Chambers (2015), Strohschein (2016) and Ethan Roberts (2016), each whom went on to claim multiple All-American accolades during their careers. Tech's first two Freshman All-American honorees were Russell Stoops (1992) and Cole Helms (2002).
Dyer ranked among the league's top freshman in nearly every hitting category, including: first in doubles, first in home runs, first in RBI, first in slugging percentage, second in on-base percentage, third in average and third in hits.
Photo by Tony Marable