Five Youngstown State baseball players have been named to the Horizon League All-Academic Team for the 2020 season, the conference office announced on Thursday. The teams were voted on by the conference's faculty athletics representatives.
The five Penguins on the team are seniors Nick Caruso, Collin Floyd and Joel Hake and sophomores Phillip Glasser and Jon Snyder. YSU had the most selections in the league and no other team had more than three honorees. The five selections match a program record; the Penguins also had five players recognized in 2005 and 2010.
Caruso has played in 57 games for the Penguins over the past three seasons since transferring from Macomb Community College. He made 36 starts at catcher in 2018, throwing out 16 base runners attempting to steal. After missing most of 2019 with an illness, he returned to make 10 starts behind the plate in 2020. Caruso was named Horizon League Batter of the Week on Feb. 24. He recently graduated with a 3.77 grade-point average in communication studies.
Floyd, a Second-Team All-Horizon League honoree in 2018, ranks sixth in YSU history with 215 career strikeouts and 42 career starts on the mound. After missing all of 2019 with an injury, the left-hander ranked second in the league with 25 strikeouts and third with 23 innings pitched in 2020. Floyd went 2-1 with a 2.74 ERA over four starts and was named Horizon League Pitcher of the Week of Feb. 17. He recently graduated with a 3.45 GPA as a marketing management major.
Glasser was named to the Horizon League All-Freshman Team in 2019 after starting 48 games at shortstop in his debut campaign. He batted .291 with a team-high 16 hits while starting all 14 games at shortstop in 2020. His 16 hits ranked sixth in the league, and he was named Horizon League Batter of the Week on March 2. Glasser holds a 3.95 GPA as a business economics major.
Hake, who also earned all-academic honors in 2018, becomes the program's eighth two-time selection. The right-hander holds the YSU career record for pitching appearances with 89. After missing most of 2019 with an injury, he returned to lead the Horizon League with 10 appearances in 2020. He also led YSU in appearances in 2016 (28) and 2018 (26). Hake boasts a 4.0 GPA as a graduate student pursuing his Master of Health and Human Services. He posted a 3.61 GPA as an undergraduate majoring in nursing.
Snyder has made 18 appearances and 10 starts on the mound over the past two seasons. The right-hander recorded a team-high 10.61 K/9 and ranked second on the team with 44 strikeouts in 2019. His 44 K's were the most by a YSU freshman since 2016, and only two freshmen in the league had more. Snyder had 10 strikeouts over four appearances and two starts in 2020. He holds a 3.84 GPA as an exercise science/pre-physical therapy major.
To be eligible for All-Academic Team consideration, student-athletes must be a starter of important reserve for their team, have completed at least 24 semester (or 36 quarter) hours at their institution and have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.2.
