Kohler, Williams Receive Conference USA Honors
July 14, 2000 | Baseball
May 17, 2000
(Excerpts of release courtesy of Conference USA)
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Louisville senior Scott Kohler and freshman David Williams, Jr., were each honored Tuesday by Conference USA in St. Petersburg, Fla., site of the 2000 C-USA Baseball Tournament. Kohler was named Second Team All-C-USA, while Williams earned a spot on the C-USA All-Freshman Team.
Kohler leads the team in hitting (.360), hits (72) and doubles (15) while playing in all 53 games. The third baseman from Napa, Calif., also ranks second on the team with 35 runs scored and 34 RBI. Williams, an outfielder from Miami, Fla., is hitting .286 with six doubles and four stolen bases.
Tulane sophomore third baseman Jake Gautreau was named Conference USA Player of the Year, while Houston junior righthander Kyle Crowell was selected as the league's Pitcher of the Year. After leading his Cougar squad to a Top 10 national ranking and a second consecutive C-USA regular season championship, Houston's Rayner Noble was named Coach of the Year for the second year in a row. Freshman of the Year honors went to UNC Charlotte outfielder Mike Taylor. Voting was done by a panel consisting of each head coach, each team's sports information director and a media representative from each city.
Gautreau is Tulane's triple crown leader, pacing the Green Wave in hitting (.395), home runs (15) and RBI (65). He ranks second, third and first in those respective categories among all Conference USA players. Gautreau is the first sophomore to earn the league's Player of the Year honors.
Crowell has posted a 12-2 record with a 2.35 ERA (second in Conference USA) and 103 strikeouts. In nine C-USA starts, he was 8-1 with a 2.95 ERA and 65 strikeouts in 64 innings pitched. Crowell held opposing batters to a .215 batting average, second-lowest in the league.
Noble was named Coach of the Year after leading the Cougars to a best-ever 21-4 league finish and a 39-14 overall mark against one of the nation's most difficult schedules. Houston posted 15 victories over ranked teams, including six over teams that were ranked in the top five at the time they played. In leading UH to back-to-back conference titles, Noble helped the 2000 Cougars post the fourth-highest regular season victory total in school history while improving his overall Conference USA record to 81-25 (.764) in four seasons.
Taylor led UNC Charlotte and ranked fifth in C-USA in batting at .365, the second-best average by a freshman in school history. He drove in a team-best 42 runs, stole 11 bases and recorded eight doubles and three home runs. Taylor is the first player in 49ers history to earn conference Freshman of the Year honors.
Seven of the league's 10 teams had at least one representative on the All-Conference first team. Houston, Tulane and Southern Miss, which finished first, second and third in the standings, tied for the most selections with three each.
2000 CONFERENCE USA BASEBALL AWARDS
First-Team
IF: Daniel Boyd, USF
IF: Mike Eylward, USF
IF: Jake Gautreau, TUL
IF: James Jurries, TUL
IF: Kevin Youkilis, CIN
OF: Dusty Haley, USM
OF: Tyson Schweitzer, HOU
OF: Matt Singer, CIN
OF: Will Smith, UAB
C: Jarrod Bitter, HOU
DH: Darren Welch, USM
P: Jared Berkowitz, TUL
P: Kyle Crowell, HOU
P: Chad Rogers, USM
P: Brion Treadway, UNCC
RP: John McKay UNCC
Second-Team
IF: Josh Hoffpauir, USM
IF: Scott Kohler, LOU
IF: Aaron Melebeck, HOU
IF: Johnny Raburn, USF
IF: Kris Wilken, HOU
OF: Mitch Jones, UAB
OF: Eric Lee, HOU
OF: Nate Sams, MEM
OF: Mike Taylor, UNCC
C: Chris Finnegan, USM
DH: Steve Shirley, TUL
P: Ryan Baker, UNCC
P: John Gorham, USF
P: Duncan McAdoo, HOU
P: Shane Nance, HOU
RP: Curtus Moak, CIN
All-Freshman Team
P/1B/DH: Nick Bourgeois, TUL
OF: James Burgess, TUL
OF: Mike Cunningham, USF
P: Shea Douglas, USM
1B: Brad Erwin, UNCC
P: Bryan Harris, HOU
OF: Mitch Jones, UAB
SS: Brad Lamm, UNCC
P: Zach Placzek, SLU
OF: Mike Taylor, UNCC
OF: David Williams, Jr., LOU
Player of the Year: Jake Gautreau, Tulane
Pitcher of the Year: Kyle Crowell, Houston
Freshman of the Year: Mike Taylor, UNC Charlotte
Coach of the Year: Rayner Noble, Houston
