GOLDEN, Colo. – Seven MSU Denver players have been named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's All-South Central Region teams, including four on the first team.
First baseman
Jake Williams, second baseman
Cody Schultz, outfielder
Tanner Garner and designated hitter
Zach Schuler have all made the first team, with outfielder
Ross Smith, starting pitcher
Jack Slominski and relief pitcher
Eric Cox all named to the second team.
It's another record for the Roadrunners, who have never had more than three players on the NCBWA's all-region list.
Williams, the Division II leader in RBIs (85), also ranks in the Division II top 11 in total bases (eighth, 167), homers (10th, 20), runs (10th, 75), slugging (10th, .799) and hits (11th, 88). .An All-RMAC first team selection in 2023 after earning All-RMAC second Team in 2021 (he did not play in 2022), he's the dependable cleanup hitter for arguably the best offense in Division II. Williams also ranks in the DII top 25 in batting (23rd, .421). He leads RMAC in home runs, RBIs, slugging and hit by pitch (15). Among active Division II players, he ranks second in career slugging percentage (.831), ninth in batting average (.402), ninth in on-base percentage (.508) and 24th in home runs (36). He's fourth among all active NCAA players, regardless of division, in slugging. MSU Denver's all-time leader in career slugging, he's also third in program history in home runs, fifth in on-base percentage, seventh in batting and tied for 11th in RBIs (132). He earned RMAC All-Tournament honors after batting .412 (7-for-17) with four homers and nine RBIs in four games. He's a two-time RMAC and NCBWA region player of the week, including once this season.
Schultz was named to the All-RMAC first team this year after earning All-RMAC second Team in 2022. The dynamic leadoff hitter for arguably Division II's best offense is also a two-time RMAC Gold Glove winner at second base. He ranks fourth in Division II in runs (80) and runs per game (1.58), and is 21st in in hits (84) and 34th in total bases (137). He also ranks in the national top 100 in batting (77th, .393), RBIs (79th, 57), on-base percentage (80th, .490) and doubles (tied for 82nd, 17). Schultz, who played for Germany in both the World Baseball Classic qualifying tournament and the Under-23 World Cup in the fall of 2022, ranks ninth in program history in career runs (146), and tied for 17th in stolen bases (37). He's a career .357 hitter with 33 doubles, 17 homers and 97 RBIs in 132 games.
Garner, the RMAC Co-Player of the Year, is the Division II national leader in hits (95) and hits per game (1.90), ranks second in batting average (.459) and doubles per game (0.50), and is third in doubles (25). He's a two-time All-RMAC first team selection, and a three-time RMAC Gold Glove winner. The inspirational leader of arguably the best offense in Division II, also ranks 15th in Division II in both total bases (155) and runs (72), and is in the top 100 in toughest to strike out (29th, 1 per 14.8), slugging percentage (30th, at .749), on-base percentage (44th, .508), RBIs (tied for 79th, 57) and stolen bases (100th, 20). Garner leads the RMAC in batting, hits, hits per game and toughest to strikeout, ranks second in doubles, doubles per game and stolen bases, is third in total bases, and fifth in on-base percentage. He has set the school record for hits in a season with 95, and set the school record and tied the RMAC record with nine RBIs in a game. He heads into the NCAA Tournament on a 20-game hitting streak. Despite not making all-tournament team, he dominated at RMAC event, batting .474 (9-for-19), homering in each of the first three games and driving in 10 runs, including game-ending squeeze bunt RBI. His MSU Denver career batting average of .406 ranks fifth in program history. Including two seasons at Colorado Mesa, he ranks seventh among active Division II players in career doubles (55), 18th in total bases (379), 20th in runs (186), 24th in stolen bases (60) and 25th in hits (235).
Schuler, the All-RMAC 1st Team designated hitter in 2023 after earning All-RMAC honorable mention in 2022, ranks 12th in Division II with 69 RBIs, 38th with 15 homers, and 43rd with 135 total bases. He's also 60th nationally in both runs (59) and slugging percentage (.707). Among active Division II players, he ranks 26th in career slugging percentage (.709), which is 41st among all NCAA players, regardless of division, and 46th in Division II in on-base percentage (.474). He earned his second career RMAC Player of the Week honor earlier this season. Schuler ranks sixth in program history in slugging percentage (.709), 11th in on-base percentage (.474), 12th in home runs (29), and 18th in batting average (.374).
Smith is the Division II national leader in doubles with a program-record 30, which is three short of the Division II national record for a season. He also ranks in the Division II top 10 in seven other categories: total bases (second, school-record 175), doubles per game (second, 0.56), runs (tied for fourth, 80), RBIs (fifth, 76), hits (seventh, 90), runs per game (seventh, 1.48) and RBIs per game (ninth, 1.41). He was named to the All-RMAC first team this season after after earning ABCA All-South Central Region second Team and All-RMAC second team honors in 2022. Smith also ranks 17th in Division II this season in slugging percentage (.774) and tied for 20th in homers (17). He's the RMAC leader in doubles, doubles per game and total bases, and ranks second in RBIs, tied for second in runs, third in hits, and tied for third in homers. Smith is second in program history with 37 career home runs, fourth in career slugging percentage (.744), fifth in doubles (50), ninth in RBIs (141) and ninth in total bases (335). Among active Division II players, he ranks 10th in career slugging percentage (.744), 17th in doubles (50) and 18th in home runs (37). He has been a two-time RMAC Player of the Week this season.
Slominski made the All-RMAC first team, and he's tied for first in the RMAC and tied for 17th in Division II with program-record tying nine victories. A two-time RMAC Pitcher of the Week, during the regular season, he was second in the RMAC in ERA (4.08), second in WHIP (1.28), third in walks per nine innings (2.4), and fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.24). He's currently tied for the second in the league with 13 games started and is 9-2 with a 5.24 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 68 2/3 innings. Slominski allowed one run or less in four straight starts from March 19 through April 16, going 4-0 with an 0.76 ERA, allowing 20 hits in 23 2/3 innings, with two walks and 23 strikeouts.
Cox, who was on the All-South Central Region first team for all three organizations (ABCA, D2CCA, NWCBA) last season, set RMAC's career saves record earlier in 2023 and now has 26, tied for the lead among active Division II players and tied for second among all active NCAA players, regardless of division. He was on the All-RMAC first team in 2022 and the second team in 2023, as well as earning honorable mention in 2021. This season he is second in the RMAC in saves (27th in Division II), with seven, after leading league in both 2021 and 2022. He was outstanding once again in the RMAC Tournament: over the past two seasons, he's pitched nine innings, going 1-0 with three saves and a 1.00 ERA, with three walks and 13 strikeouts. Cox ranks sixth among active Division II players in career relief appearances and seventh in overall pitching appearances with 75. He's fourth in program history in career ERA at 3.76, sixth in opponent batting average (.238) and seventh with 8.7 strikeouts per nine innings (105 1/3 innings, 102 strikeouts).
