2007 All Ping! Teams

There are 293 Division I college baseball teams; an important number to consider when compiling the top players in the nation. With thousands of players to choose from and only a limited number of All Ping! roster spots available, a player must truly accomplish something special to be considered for membership. However the players below did that and beyond, raising their game to another level and earning their spot on the first All Ping! Teams.

The All Ping! catcher is Big Ten Player of the Year, Lars Davis. Davis was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the third round recently after finishing the season with a .400 batting average with 13 homeruns and surprising speed for a catcher. At first, Ping! honors Brett Wallace who has mashed 17 homeruns so far this season with a .423 batting average to lead ASU to another CWS title run. Nothing against the other second baseman in the country, but Tony Thomas Jr. of Florida State was the easiest selection. Thomas hit .430 with 33 doubles and also added 31 stolen bases to keep the Seminoles near the top of the rankings. All Ping! third baseman Greg Sexton hit .455 for the season, the highest of anyone with over 150 at bats. The first team shortstop is Todd Frazier who rewrote the Rutgers record book in 2007, finishing in the top-6 in every single-season offensive category, excluding triples. The outfield selections are Kyle Russel of Texas, Robbie Widlansky of Florida Atlantic and Kellen Kulbacki of James Madison. Russel combined power with speed, leading the nation in homeruns with 27 and also had five triples and 10 stolen bases. Widlansky was the biggest bat in the FAU lineup, and that is truly saying something considering the Owls batted .341 as a team. Kulbacki's 2007 statistical numbers were actually slightly down from last year when he was the co-player of the year, but the JMU lineup lacked the protection for this bat it had last year, demonstrated by his 56 walks. Rice's MVP Joe Savery could have made the All Ping! squad as either a hitter or a pitcher. Offensively is batting .361 with 26 extra base hits. On the mound, Savery is currently 10-1 with a 2.78 ERA.

The All Ping! pitching staff is led by a pair of Vanderbilt aces. Starter David Price has won a plethora of postseason player of the year awards including the Dick Howser Trophy, and closer Casey Weathers won twelve games for the Commodores, striking out 79 batters in only 49.1 innings pitched. Adam Mills from Charlotte may have had the most impressive statistical season, going 14-2 with a teeny tiny 1.01 ERA. An impressive pair of hurlers from the West Coast, Brian Matusz from upstart San Diego and Cal State Fullerton's Wes Roemer were instrumental in guiding their teams into the post season. Matusz went 10-3 and fanned 163 batters in 123 innings, while Roemer almost single handedly got the Titans back to Omaha with his seven complete games and 150 K's. Bryan Henry was just as impressive pitching as teammate Tony Thomas Jr. was at the plate. Henry was 14-2 in 18 appearances for the Seminoles. Jess Todd of Arkansas was the best pitcher on the best pitching staff in the nation, going 9-3 with 128 strikeouts in just 93.1 innings pitched. Virginia Cavalier Jacob Thompson was a perfect 11-0 with a 1.50 ERA. Andrew Carigan may have received the most attention nationally, earning 15 saves for '06 national runner up North Carolina, but a pair of stoppers from middle America may have had the most dominating stuff. Luke Prihoda from Sam Houston State was named the NCBWA Stopper of the Year after winning seven games and saving 18 for the Bearkats. UIC Flame David Cales had crazy control in '07, walking only a single batter (and it was intentional) in 36.1 innings with a 0.74 ERA.

122