Brooks Earns PSUAC Newcomer Of The Year; Seven Lions Named All-PSUAC

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Brandywine freshman Tyler Brooks (Oxford, Pa./Oxford) was selected by the league coaches as the Penn State University Athletic Conference East Division Newcomer of the Year and was one of four Lions named first team all-conference on Thursday. A total of seven Brandywine baseball players were lauded with all-conference accolades overall.

Joining Brooks on the first team were senior Ben Mutz (Swarthmore, Pa./Strath Haven), junior Nick Wright (Aston, Pa./Sun Valley) and sophomore Kyle Oechsle (Coopersburg, Pa./Palisades). Senior Brian Reynolds (Newtown Square, Pa./Marple Newtown), junior Tyler Wright (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville) and freshman Evan Abegg (Commerce City, Colo./Prairie View) each earned honorable mention laurels.

Brooks, Brandywine's first newcomer of the year since Reynolds landed the honor in 2017, has been on a tear at the plate all season, batting a USCAA-leading .634 (26-41) in 13 games. Brooks collected hits in nine consecutive trips to the plate over a three-game span from March 26-27 against Penn State York for the first three of hits nine multi-hit performances. He recorded a pair of four-hit outings, including a 4-for-4 performance in the first round of the PSUAC Tournament.

Brooks also led the team with nine stolen bases and three home runs, while tying for the team lead with 14 runs scored. He ranked second in RBI (15) and struck out just three times in 43 plate appearances, while posting a .652 on-base percentage and 1.098 slugging percentage.

Now a two-time all-conference selection, Mutz was one of the top two-way players in the league, recording a 1.35 ERA in eight appearances on the mound, while hitting .280 in 25 at-bats. Mutz topped all PSUAC relievers with four saves and did not allow a run during his seven appearances out of the pen. He struck out 19 batters in 13.1 innings. At the plate, three of Mutz's seven hits went for extra bases and he added two RBI and four runs scored.

Nick Wright earned the second first team selection of his career as he started 15 of the team's 16 games in the infield. Wright batted .320 and was successful in all seven of his stolen base attempts. He hit safely in 11-of-15 games and produced seven RBI and 10 runs scored, third-most on the team.

Oechsle registered a trio of three-hit games and batted .333 overall in 15 contests this spring. Four of Oechsle's 15 hits went for extra bases, including a home run on April 26 at Penn State Schuylkill. He tied for fourth on the team in runs scored and RBI, recording nine of each.

Reynolds claimed the third all-conference award of his 125-game career. He batted .400 in 10 games behind the plate, upping his career hit total to 117. Reynolds tallied a trio of three-hit games and ranked third on the team with 10 RBI, while stealing three bases. Five of his 10 RBI came in a 7-0 victory over Penn State York on March 26.

Tyler Wright led all Brandywine pitchers with five starts and appeared in six games overall during his first season with the Lions. He posted a 3-1 record with a 3.38 ERA and fired a pair of complete games. Wright was the PSUAC leader in strikeouts per nine innings (13.16) and tied for second in the league with 39 total strikeouts. He fanned at least eight hitters in three of his starts, including a 12-strikeout performance against Penn State Hazleton on April 5.

Abegg made 11 starts as the team's primary shortstop during his rookie season. He stands second on the team with a .429 batting average after amassing 12 hits in 28 at-bats. He produced two hits four times and reached base safely in 10 of the 11 games he played. Abegg added nine runs scored, three RBI and three runs scored.

In addition, Reynolds was the recipient of the John Fritz Sportsmanship Award from the conference. Named after former PSUAC Commissioner John Fritz, the sportsmanship award is given to one player from each team in the league who best displays the core values of the league and sportsmanship to teammates and opponents throughout the season.

Brandywine won the PSUAC East Division during the regular season and will continue the PSUAC Tournament Sunday in DuBois with a winners' bracket game against Penn State Mont Alto (2:00 pm).