Saint Joseph's of Maine's Joe Coyne Named GNAC Baseball Player of the Year

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monks' Alex Valenti named
conference Pitcher of the Year

WINTHROP, Mass. – Saint Joseph's College of Maine senior catcher Joe Coyne has been named the 2015 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Baseball Player of the Year, as announced by the league office on Monday and as voted upon by the league's head coaches.

Coyne's teammate and classmate righthander Alex Valenti was selected as the GNAC Pitcher of the Year, while Saint Joseph's of Maine head coach Will Sanborn was voted Coach of the Year by his peers.

Coyne led the conference in hitting (.434), RBI (30), OBP (.500), slugging (.643) and doubles (16) for the GNAC regular-season champion Monks, while Valenti ranked first among GNAC pitching leaders in strikeouts (52) and third in ERA (2.91). Overall, he was 3-2 in eight starts spanning 46.1 innings.

Both received All-GNAC First Team honors, as did six other Monks student-athletes.

Sanborn led the Monks to another GNAC regular-season crown and top seed in the GNAC Tournament, going 23-14 overall and 12-2 in conference-play. It is his fourth GNAC Coach of the Year honor in his illustrious career. 

Lasell College freshman righthander Josh Bahnick was named the 2015 GNAC Rookie of the Year, as the Clinton, Mass. native led the GNAC with a 2.23 ERA. He went 3-2 with two complete games over 40.1 innings pitched.

Saint Joseph's of Maine sophomore infielders Brett Barbati and Taylor Black both received First Team honors, as did a pair of Rivier infielders in junior Taylor Black and senior J.J. Montello.

In the outfield, Monks sophomore Scott Betts, Monks junior Taylor Reuillard and Norwich sophomore LaShawn Thomas all were recognized on the First Team.

Monks sophomore Dan Donovan was the GNAC First Team selection at designated hitter, while Monks senior Lincoln Sanborn was the First Team choice at utility.

Johnson & Wales University junior righthander Jake Marchesseault joined Valenti at First Team Pitcher.

The Monks led the way with 11 All-Conference choices, while Lasell had six, Rivier five and Johnson & Wales five. GNAC Tournament champion Suffolk University had three All-Conference selections.

The GNAC also announced its inaugural All-Defensive Team to recognize defensive excellence. For the complete list of All-Conference teams, All-Defensive selections and All-Sportsmanship Team, please see below.

Founded in 1995, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 12 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Each year, the GNAC sponsors and administers 17 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunities and community involvement.

First Team
C – Joe Coyne, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Sr., Duxbury, Mass.)
INF – Taylor Black, Rivier (Jr., West Springfield, Mass.)
INF – J.J. Montello, Rivier (Sr., Nashua, N.H.)
INF – Brett Barbati, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (So., Melrose, Mass.)
INF – Taylor Black, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (So., Cardiff by the Sea, Calif.)
OF – LaShawn Thomas, Norwich (So., San Antonio, Texas)
OF – Scott Betts, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (So., Peadbody, Mass.)
OF – Taylor Reuillard, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Jr., Biddleford, Maine)
DH – Dan Donovan, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (So., Lynn, Mass.)
UTIL – Lincoln Sanborn, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Sr., Standish, Maine)
P – Jake Marchesseault, Johnson & Wales (Jr., Wyoming, R.I.)
P – Alex Valenti, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Sr., Lawrence, Mass.)

Second Team
C – Wes Hurty, Lasell (Jr., Windsor, Conn.)
INF – Nate Frederick, Anna Maria (Fr., Worcester, Mass.)
INF – Ryan Cabral, Johnson & Wales (So., Hope, R.I.)
INF – AJ McKenzie, Lasell (Sr., Pasadena, Md.)
INF – Max McCoomb, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (So., South Berwick, Maine)
OF – Matt Sammarco, Lasell (Sr., New Canaan, Conn.)
OF – David Cusack, Rivier (Sr., Newburyport, Mass.)
OF – Dennis Meehan, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (So., Gardiner, Maine)
DH – Andrew Hunton, Johnson & Wales (Jr., Monroe, N.Y.)
UTIL – Carlos Sanabria, Johnson & Wales (So., Pawtucket, R.I.)
P – Dan Meeken, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Sr., Marshfield, Mass.)
P – Josh Desai, Suffolk (Sr., Shrewsbury, Mass.)

Third Team
C – Jon Lapolla, Suffolk (Jr., Providence, R.I.)
INF – Justin Poirier, Albertus Magnus (Jr., Meriden, Conn.)
INF – Tyler Robertson, Albertus Magnus (Sr., Creshire, Conn.)
INF – Lou Umberto, Johnson & Wales (So., Cranston, R.I.)
INF – Tyler Flaherty, Lasell (Jr., Portland, Maine)
OF – Anthony Pellegrino, Albertus Magnus (Sr., Branford, Conn.)
OF – Jeremy Ball, Rivier (Jr., Swanzey, N.H.)
OF – Brady Chant, Suffolk (Fr., Warwick, R.I.)
DH – Kevin Post, Lasell (Sr., Cromwell, Conn.)
UTIL – Anthony Pellegrino, Albertus Magnus (Sr., Branford, Conn.)
P – Greg Sherman, Lasell (Sr., Marshfield, Mass.)
P – Alex Mears, Rivier (Sr., Sandown, N.H.)

Player of the Year – Joe Coyne, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
Pitcher of the Year – Alex Valenti, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
Rookie of the Year – Josh Bahnick, Lasell
Coach of the Year – Will Sanborn, Saint Joseph's (Maine)
Institutional Sportsmanship Award – Norwich University  

All-Defensive Team
C – Brandon Pedley, Norwich (So., Northfield, Vt.)
1B – Brett Barbati, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (So., Melrose, Mass.)
2B – Nate Frederick, Anna Maria (Fr., Worcester, Mass.)
3B – Mike Scanlon, Rivier (Sr., Plantsville, Conn.)
SS – Lou Umberto, Johnson & Wales (So., Cranston, R.I.)
OF – Carlos Sanabria, Johnson & Wales (So., Pawtucket, R.I.)
OF – Taylor Reuillard, Saint Joseph's (Me.) (Jr., Biddleford, Maine)
OF – Brady Chant, Suffolk (Fr., Warwick, R.I.)
P – Lane Compton, Johnson & Wales (Jr., Freeland, Mich.)

All-Sportsmanship Team
Arber Mehmedi, Albertus Magnus (Sr., Naugatuck, Conn.)
Michael Kilcoyne, Anna Maria (Sr., Worcester, Mass.)
Rob Bocchetti, Johnson & Wales (Sr., East Meadow, N.Y.)
Dan Mickens, Lasell (Sr., Montclair, N.J.)
Brandon Place, Norwich (Sr., Concord, N.H.)
Charlie Savard, Rivier (Fr., Tyngsboro, Mass.)
Anthony Zawistowski, Saint Joseph's College (Me.)
Paul Pollano, Suffolk (Sr., North Andover, Mass.)

– #theGNAC –