BASEBALL: AMCATS' Drosidis Wins Player of Year Honors as GNAC Unveils All-Conference Teams

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LEAGUE LEADERS | AWARD HISTORY

Anna Maria's Drosidis, JWU's Depatie,
SJC's Stephens named major award winners

WINTHROP, Mass. – With the difficulty of the 2021 spring season dealing with COVID-19 seemingly in the rearview, the Great Northeast Athletic Conference released its 2021 Baseball major award winners and all-league squads on Wednesday morning. All selections are voted upon by the league's head coaches. 

For the complete All-Conference, All-Defensive, and All-Sportsmanship selections, please see the full list below.

Anna Maria College junior infielder Kosta Drosidis has been chosen as the 2021 GNAC Player of the Year, as the right-handed slugger help lead the AMCATS to a banner season and the top seed in the GNAC Tournament. The Holden, Mass. native and 2019 GNAC Rookie of the Year was among the league leaders in multiple categories, slashing .391/.465/.682 with five home runs, nine doubles, four triples, 35 runs and 33 RBI. 

Johnson & Wales University (RI) senior left-hander Ryan Depatie was named the GNAC Pitcher of the Year after helping guide the Wildcats to their first-ever NCAA berth, as second-seeded JWU swept top-seeded Anna Maria to take home the GNAC title back on May 8. Depatie tied for the league lead in wins, going 4-1 across seven starts with 28 strikeouts in 40.1 innings pitched. 

The Wildcats will learn their D3 fate on Sunday, May 23 in an online selection show. JWU will then travel to its regional destination under the guidance of third-year head coach Kevin Casey, who was named the GNAC Coach of the Year by his peers. 

Although longtime conference power Saint Joseph's College of Maine was forced to opt out of the season in late April, GNAC coaches witnessed freshman sensation Luke Stephens collect four Rookie of the Week honors in a five-week span before the Monks' shutdown. En route to receiving GNAC Rookie of the Year honors, the Glastonbury, Conn. native hit .423 with (11-26, 4 2B, 1 3B) in eight league contests. Overall, he posted an .877 OPS in 22 games, hitting .294 with two homers, five doubles, 15 runs and 13 RBI for the Monks. 

Other notable All-GNAC First-Team selections included Albertus Magnus College senior Matt Warren, Dean senior Brian Hadden, JWU seniors Colby Greenhalgh and Raimiel Rodriguez, and Lasell University senior Charlie Danaher.

Warren slashed a stellar .419/.514/.726 this spring to cap his Albertus career, registering 14 runs, 13 extra-base hits and 13 RBI for the Falcons. A .314 career hitter at end the of the 2019 campaign, Warren hit .431 (44-102) with 22 extra-base hits in 2020 and 2021 combined amidst COVID. 

In Dean's abbreviated season, Hadden made the most of his limited at-bats, connecting for extra bases on an astounding 80 percent of his hits. The Newburyport, Mass native went 15-for-27 (.556) with 10 doubles, a triple and a homer for a 1.111 slugging percentage with nine runs and eight RBI in just eight games. 

Rodriguez led the GNAC with eight home runs, including the eventual game-winning three-run blast in the GNAC Championship against Anna Maria to claim Tournament MVP honors, posting an 1.074 OPS with 30 RBI as JWU readies for NCAA play. Meanwhile Greenhalgh hit .340 overall and .364 in conference play, scoring 28 runs while driving in 20 and stealing seven bags. 

Danaher was fourth in the GNAC with a .426 average, totaling 11 runs, 13 RBI and six extra-base hits in 23 games for the Lasers. 

FIRST TEAM
C - Colby Greenhalgh, Johnson & Wales
INF - Matt Warren, Albertus Magnus
INF - Kosta Drosidis, Anna Maria
INF - Raimiel Rodriguez, Johnson & Wales
INF - Charlie Danaher, Lasell
OF - Brian Hadden, Dean
OF - Armani Henderson, Johnson & Wales
OF - Ben Gravel, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
DH - Nick Genatossio, Anna Maria
UTIL - Luke Stephens, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
P - Ryan Depatie, Johnson & Wales (RI)
P - Darek Lallo, Lasell 

SECOND TEAM
C - Greg Gehring, Anna Maria
INF - James Powers, Anna Maria
INF - Matt Callahan, Dean
INF - Jack Magane, Johnson & Wales (RI)
INF - Drew Healey, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
OF - Adam Twitchell, Anna Maria
OF - EJ Leone, Johnson & Wales (RI)
OF - Dylan Fournier, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
DH - Matt Motyka, Lasell
UTIL - Jarrod Marifiote, Anna Maria
P - Jack Marzec, Anna Maria
P - Jonathan Marchia, Saint Joseph's (Me.)

THIRD TEAM
C - Jackson Stanton, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
INF - Brandon Clark, Albertus Magnus
INF - Noah Holland, Anna Maria
INF - Joe Maracic, Johnson & Wales (RI)
INF - Ross Audet, Lasell
OF - Jason Shell, Anna Maria
OF - Harrison Silva, Lasell
OF - Hunter Richardson, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
DH - Justen Rodriguez, Albertus Magnus
UTIL - PJ Morales, Norwich
P - Liam Cunningham, Anna Maria
P - Matt Ingraffia, Norwich 

ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
C - Joe Sullivan, Lasell
1B - Matt Callahan, Dean
2B - Luke Johnson, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
3B - Hayden Roberge, Norwich
SS - Justin Juliano, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
OF - Adam Twitchell, Anna Maria
OF - Armani Henderson, Johnson & Wales
OF - Hunter Richardson, Saint Joseph's 

ALL-SPORTSMANSHIP TEAM
Connor Egan, Anna Maria
Brandon Clark, Albertus Magnus 
Matt Callahan, Dean
Kevin Manning, Johnson & Wales (RI)
Tyrek Robinson, Lasell 
CJ Davis, Norwich
Dan White, Rivier
Luke Johnson, Saint Joseph's (Me.)

PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Kosta Drosidis, Anna Maria
PITCHER OF THE YEAR - Ryan Depatie, Johnson & Wales (RI)
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR - Luke Stephens, Saint Joseph's (Me.)
COACH OF THE YEAR - Kevin Casey, Johnson & Wales (RI)
INSTITUTIONAL SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD - Rivier University 

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 13 member institutions and over 3,000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience. 

– #TheGNAC –