May 21, 2008
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Trenton, N.J. - Siena third baseman Jacob Willis was named MAAC Player of the Year and five other teammates secured spots on the All-MAAC Second Team this evening at the conference's baseball banquet held at the KatManDu in Trenton, N.J. Willis becomes the fourth Saint and first since Ryan Finn in 2002 to be named the league's top player.
Willis was Siena's lone first team representative. Five of the 13 Second Team selections were Saints, highlighted by Phil Cahill, Rick Seltzer, Chris Klepps, Nick Messinger and Kevin Quaranto.
Willis, a co-captain from Niantic, Conn., enters the MAAC Tournament sixth in the MAAC in hitting at .352, while also placing in the top-10 in hits (68-3rd), home runs (10-T-3rd), total bases (110-4th) and slugging percentage (.570-4th).
He is currently just one hit shy of the program's all-time single season record for hits in a year (69-Kevin Roberts '01) and currently shares the program record for career doubles with 54. Earlier this month, he was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team.
A native of Wall, N.J., Cahill was off to a strong start as the Saints' primary backstop this season before being sidelined by a season-ending injury. In 34 games and 28 starts he hit .294 and knocked in 14 runs. He was also solid behind the plate, committing just one error, while accruing a stellar .993 fielding percentage.
Seltzer, a senior co-captain from Allentown, Pa., was also a Preseason All-MAAC selection and lived up to the billing in finishing the regular season second on the squad with eight home runs. A patient hitter, he also drew a team high 24 walks and the 110 for his career are second most in program history.
Klepps was also named to the Preseason All-MAAC Team at the beginning of the season. The Bristol, Conn. native currently leads the MAAC in doubles with 21 which is just one shy of Siena's all-time single season record. He also leads the team with 24 extra base hits and is batting a blistering .432 (32-74) over the Saints' last 20 games.
Messinger, who hails from Norton, Mass., was one of two Saints (Willis) to appear in all 51 games this season. He was named MAAC Co-Player of the Week on Apr. 21 in leading the Green and Gold to a 5-1 week, including an important road series win over league-leading Canisius.
The lone Siena freshman to make the cut, Quaranto has become a fixture in the Saints lineup, starting the past 16 games. He has hit safely in 11 of the past 13 games entering tournament play, while hitting a solid .316 in his first season in Loudonville.
Siena also placed seven student athletes on the MAAC All-Academic team, the second most selections of any conference school. Ryan Burke, Jason DeFilippo, Will Hassett, Tom Hopkins, Al Williams, Klepps and Willis took home the honors.
To be eligible for the MAAC All-Academic Team, a student athlete must complete two semesters at their institution and hold a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a 4.0 scale.
The Saints embark upon their quest for a fifth MAAC Championship title tomorrow against second seed Manhattan at 2 p.m. The Pregame Show with Mike Demos and Jason Rich begins at 1:45 p.m. on WVCR 88.3 FM and online at SienaSaints.com.
