BOSTON – Regular season champion Bryant secured a pair of #AEBASE major awards, while UMBC and NJIT each had one major honoree. These were announced on Tuesday afternoon along with All-Conference, All-Rookie and All-Academic honorees.
Bryant’s Gavin Noriega was selected as the Player of the Year and head coach Ryan Klosterman was honored as Coach of the Year after helping Bryant clinch its first America East regular season title. UMBC’s Luke Johnson won Pitcher of the Year for a second straight year, while the Highlanders’ Cade Ladehoff secured Rookie of the Year honors.
Award winners were determined in a vote by the league's head coaches who were not permitted to vote for their own players. The All-Academic selections were chosen by a committee of athletic administrators.
2024 #AEBASE Major Award Winners
Len Harlow Player of the Year
Gavin Noriega – Sr., Outfield, Bryant
- Led the league in on-base percentage (.451) and runs (53) while ranking second in slugging (.690) and OPS (1.162).
- Fifth in average (.332) with 129 total bases, 62 hits, 17 home runs and 12 doubles.
- Twice honored as Player of the Week.
- First Bryant student-athlete to be named America East Player of the Year in any sport.
Pitcher of the Year
Luke Johnson – Sr., Pitcher, UMBC
- Led the league with 75.1 IP while ranking second in strikeouts (77) with a 5-4 record and 3.35 ERA.
- In #AEBASE action, posted a 2.42 ERA and a 5-1 record with 50 strikeouts.
- Went at least 6.0 IP in all 8 league starts and allowed 1 ER in four of those starts
- Just the second player in league history to earn back-to-back Pitcher of the Year awards, joining Nick Tropeano of Stony Brook in 2010 and 2011.
Rookie of the Year
Cade Ladehoff – Fr., Utility, NJIT
- Tied for the league lead in RBI (55) and third in total bases (124) while hitting .323 with a .913 slugging percentage.
- In #AEBASE action, leads the league in doubles (10) and is second in runs (26) while batting .336.
- Second NJIT player to win this award, joining teammate Albert Choi who won it in 2021.
Coach of the Year
Ryan Klosterman - Bryant
- Led Bryant 33-19 record and to 17-7 #AEBASE mark to capture the program’s first #AEBASE Regular Season Title.
- In conference play, Bryant led the league in average (.289), slugging (.506), runs (181), home runs (37), ERA (4.07) and fewest walks allowed (81).
- The 33 wins are the most for any #AEBASE program since 2015, when Stony Brook (35) and UMBC (34) surpassed that total.
- Klosterman is assisted by Tim Cronin, Will Kaufman, Alex Denoyelle and Adam Horowitz
In addition to major awards, All-Conference teams were also named. Bryant led the way ten selections, five on the first team and five on the second team. It is the most selections for a single team since Stony Brook’s had 12 total selections (7 on the first team), back in 2012. UMass Lowell and Binghamton each had five total selections.
NJIT had league-best three on the All-Rookie Team and three more on All-Academic. Binghamton led the way with four All-Academic selections.
The majority of this year’s award winners will be in action at the 2024 #AEBASE Championship, hosted by Binghamton. First round action begins on Wednesday at 1 p.m. and the entire tournament will be broadcast on ESPN+ domestically and AmericaEast.TV outside of the United States.
Stay up-to-date on the tournament by visiting Championship Central for streaming and live stats links. After the game, visit for box scores and recaps in addition to team information, tournament history and more.
Follow @AmericaEast on Twitter to get the real-time championship updates. Use the #AEChamps and #AEBASE hashtags to join the conversation.
ABOUT AMERICA EAST
Founded in 1979, the America East Conference is an elite NCAA Division I athletic conference that fosters an environment for student-athletes to become champions. Comprised of academically renowned, like-minded member institutions located in the Northeast region of the United States, America East is committed to broad-based excellence and progressive in its approach to supporting its more than 3,500 student-athletes across 18 sponsored sports. For more information, visit www.AmericaEast.com and follow the America East Conference and its social media channels, @AmericaEast.
- America East Conference – Where Champions Rise -