Holbrook Named CAA Coach of the Year; 10 Cougars on All-Conference Teams – College of Charleston Athletics
RICHMOND, Va. –
Chad Holbrook has been selected the CAA Coach of the Year to highlight the College of Charleston postseason conference awards, the league office announced Tuesday. The Cougars placed five players on the All-CAA first team, including first baseman Cole Mathis, third baseman Kevin Madden, left fielder Avery Neaves, designated hitter Cole Singsank, and closer Davis Aiken. Starting pitchers Jake Brink and Aidan Hunter were chosen to the second team, and right fielder Will Baumhofer and starting pitcher Connor Campbell were honorable mentions. Relief pitcher Hayden Thomas was tabbed to the all-rookie squad.
Coach of the Year
Holbrook has led the Cougars to a current record of 39-12 and the team’s second regular season CAA title in the past three years. The seventh-year head coach was also honored by his peers in 2022 and has a record of 223-121 since his hiring in 2018. The 39 wins are his most with the Cougars, and one more victory will produce the seventh 40-win season in program history.
All-Conference First Team
Mathis moved up to the first team this year after being on the second team last year. He is batting .339 with 14 doubles, 14 home runs, 58 runs scored, and 54 RBI and currently owns a 13-game hitting streak. Mathis has three games with two home runs this season with one of them coming in a five-hit, seven-RBI contest at Campbell which helped him earn the NCBWA National Hitter of the Week award.
Madden is batting .327 with 14 doubles, 12 home runs, 50 runs scored, and 45 RBI. He has a pair of double-digit hitting streaks, including one of 10 games that he brings into the CAA Tournament. Madden’s biggest moment came in the series finale against Northeastern when his grand slam capped a six-run eighth inning in a 6-3 Cougar victory, and he had a two-home run game against Monmouth.
Neaves became only the second Cougar to hit for the cycle when he accomplished the feat on Saturday at Elon. The game boosted his stats to a .330 average, 22 doubles, four triples, 13 homers, and 58 runs scored, and he ranks second in the CAA and 12th in the nation in two-base hits. Neaves also had an 8-for-8 series with eight extra base hits at Towson and was the CAA Player of the Week.
Singsank has been on a power surge, homering eight times with 21 RBI during a current seven-game hitting streak. He went deep twice in consecutive games against The Citadel and the first two against Northeastern to move up to fourth in the conference with 18 to go along with 54 RBI. The stretch against the Bulldogs and Huskies earned him CAA, D1Baseball, NCBWA, and Perfect Game Player of the Week honors.
Aiken leads the CAA and is tied for fourth in the nation with 11 saves and is tied for 15th in the country with 29 appearances. He had nine saves in which he did not allow a baserunner and went more than one inning to secure victories over Georgia Southern and Campbell. Aiken was named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watchlist in April.
All-Conference Second Team and Honorable Mentions
Brink is tied for the CAA lead with eight wins while ranking fifth with a 3.29 ERA. He also leads the conference with 87.2 innings pitched and is fourth by limiting opponents to a .226 batting average. Brink was the CAA Pitcher of the Week on March 18 after blanking a strong hitting Wofford team on three hits over eight innings. Hunter went 6-1 during the regular season and is eighth in the CAA with a 4.00 ERA. He won all five of his decisions in conference play and was the CAA Pitcher of the Week on April 22 after allowing three hits in eight shutout innings with a season-high seven strikeouts against William & Mary.
Baumhofer leads the Cougars with 16 steals while his .353 average is first on the team and eighth in the CAA. He is batting .388 with 21 runs scored and 17 RBI while hitting safely in 18 of his last 21 games entering the conference tournament. Campbell is tied for second in the CAA with eight wins and fourth with a 3.18 ERA. He won his 20th career game this season, one of 10 pitchers in school history to reach that total. Campbell earned CAA Pitcher of the Week accolades in February after retiring the first 23 Youngstown State batters. Thomas has pitched in 21 games with three wins, one save, and 34 strikeouts in 37 innings. He was the CAA Rookie of the Week following the William & Mary series when he picked up his first career win and save and striking out nine in 4.1 innings.