ATHENS, W. Va. – Concord University baseball standout senior first baseman
Joey Miller has been named a finalist for the 2014 Jaeger Sports Tino Martinez Player of the Year award as well as being selected as an All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and Daktronics Inc.
The awards come on the heels of Miller being named the NCBWA Atlantic Region Player of the Year in addition to earning first team Daktronics All-Atlantic Region, first team American Baseball Coaches Association All-Atlantic Region, Mountain East Conference Player of the Year, first team All-MEC and Capital One Academic All-District recognition.
The Tino Martinez Player of the Year award is named in honor of former Major League Baseball standout and Division II star Tino Martinez, who was a three-time All-American at the University of Tampa before becoming a first round draft pick and eventual MLB All-Star. The award is presented annually by D2BaseballNews.com and College Baseball Lineup to the top baseball player playing at an NCAA Division II institution. Previous winners include Harmen Sidhu (2013 / Sonoma State), Nathan Minnich (2012 / Shepherd), Chase Larsson (2011 / Cameron) and Bryan Fogle (2010 / Erskine).
This year's winner will be announced June 2 at the conclusion of the Division II Baseball Championship held in Cary, North Carolina. Joining Miller on the ballot are Giancarlo Brugnoni (Grand Valley State), Stephen Dezzi (Tampa), Patrick Grady (Lander), Austin Kaiser (Colorado Mesa), Bradon Reitano (Mount Olive), Tony Viger (Augustana) and Phillip Wilson (Central Oklahoma).
Initial nominations for the award were made by baseball sports information contacts and media members. A national panel of media, coaches and sports information directors was polled to finalize the candidates. The group will once again vote on the finalists. An Internet fan vote is also planned to contribute to the crowning of the winner.
Miller was the driving force behind Concord winning a school-record 38 games in 2014 and is arguably the top power hitter in NCAA Division II. In 54 games, Miller hit .390 (71-for-182) with 46 runs scored, 21 doubles, 13 home runs and 71 RBI in addition to slugging and on-base percentages of .720 and .433, respectively. His 34 extra-base hits accounted for 47.9 percent of his season hit total.
A three-time MEC Hitter of the Week and two-time NCBWA Atlantic Region Hitter of the Week, Miller batted .416 (47-for-113) with runners on base and .393 (33-for-84) with runners in scoring position. He also tallied 22 multi-hit and 20 multi-RBI contests. In the field, Miller boasted a team-best fielding percentage of .995.
Miller currently ranks second in the nation in RBI, fifth in doubles, sixth in slugging percentage, 10
th in home runs and 12
th in total bases.
Despite playing at Concord for only two seasons after transferring into the program from Frederick Community College as a junior, Miller leaves CU ranked fifth in Mountain Lion history in home runs (28), eighth in RBI (141) and 11
th in batting average (.366).