Baseball

Sinacola Headlines #AEBASE Annual Awards with Pitcher of the Year Honors

BOSTON – Maine ace Nicholas Sinacola capped his historic season with Pitcher of the Year honors as the conference's annual awards were announced Wednesday afternoon. In 2021, the junior compiled the most strikeouts by any America East pitcher in a single season, a total that also ranked second in Division I.
 
John Thrasher became the third Hartford Hawk in the past five full seasons to earn Player of the Year honors while NJIT leadoff man Albert Choi and UAlbany head coach Jon Mueller were named Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year, respectively.
 
The All-Conference teams and major awards were determined in a vote by the league’s eight head coaches who were not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes or themselves.
 
Full Awards Listing
 
2021 #AEBASE Major Award Winners
Pitcher of the Year
Nicholas Sinacola, Jr., Maine
  • Set #AEBASE single-season record with 128 strikeouts.
  • His 15.9 K/9 ranked second in Division I.
  • Led the league with a 2.12 ERA.
  • First Maine pitcher to earn the honor since 2013 and seventh overall.
 
Player of the Year
John Thrasher, Sr., Hartford
  • Led the league with a .369 batting average and 1.150 OPS.
  • Scored 37 runs and hit seven home runs.
  • Thrasher ranked second in the country with 37 steals.
  • Third Hawk to be named Player of the Year, all of which were awarded over the last five full seasons.
 
Rookie of the Year
Albert Choi, So., NJIT
  • Led the league with 40 runs scored while hitting .320.
  • Ranked in the conference's top-10 in RBI, doubles and slugging percentage.
  • The leadoff man stole 27 bases on 28 attempts, ranking in the nation’s top-10.
  • First Highlander to win a major award.
 
Coach of the Year
Jon Mueller, UAlbany
  • Led UAlbany to a 20-18 conference record, winning Division A.
  • The Great Danes led the league in fielding percentage and clinched a fifth-straight postseason berth.
  • Mueller coached four 2021 All-Conference selections.
  • He has won the award two times consecutively and three times overall.

 
In addition to the major awards, the All-Conference teams were also revealed. The top four teams in the standings – Stony Brook, UAlbany, NJIT and Maine – combined for 20 selections.
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Seven of the 11 All-Rookie selections also earned All-Conference honors.
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The All-Academic Team features 11 standouts with a combined 3.73 GPA.
 
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Most of the award-winners will be in action at this week's #AEBASE Championship. The double-elimination tournament, to be played at Stony Brook, will feature four teams for the first time since 2015. First pitch is 11 a.m. Thursday, May 27 with B#1 Stony Brook, which won the last #AEBASE championship in 2019, facing A#2 Maine followed by B#2 NJIT pitting its seven-game win streak against A#1 UAlbany at 2:30 p.m. Two games are scheduled for Friday, May 28 and Saturday, May 29, the latter of which features the championship round. All games will be streamed on ESPN+.

Stay up-to-date on the tournament by visiting Championship Central for streaming and live stats links. After the games, visit for box scores, highlights and daily recaps in addition to team information, tournament history and more.
 
Follow @AmericaEast and @AEDigitalNet on Twitter to get the real-time championship updates. Use the #AEChamps and #AEBASE hashtags to join the conversation.


About America East: The America East provides its member schools and their athletic programs a platform upon which student-athletes can achieve both collegiate and life success through the promotion and nurturing of athletic excellence, academic achievement and leadership, on and off the field. 
 
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