BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Regular-season champion Army West Point collected four of the five Patriot League baseball major awards and nine All-League honors when the League office announced postseason awards on Wednesday.
Black Knights’ senior shortstop Kevin Dubrule claimed Patriot League Player and Defensive Player of the Year. Army West Point junior right-handed pitcher (RHP) Tanner Gresham collected Patriot League Pitcher of the Year, and Chris Tracz received the Gene Depew Patriot League Coach of the Year after leading the Black Knights to a Patriot League single-season record 21 League wins in his first season at the helm of the program.
Holy Cross freshman outfielder Jack Toomey was selected Patriot League Rookie of the Year, becoming the fifth Crusader to earn the honor.
Overall, 29 student-athletes were selected to the two All-Patriot League teams, including 15 on the first and 14 on the second team, with ties in the voting on both squads. Army West Point placed a League-high nine players on the two teams, including eight on the first team. Bucknell had six representatives on the two teams, with three on the first and three on the second team.
Navy placed five student-athletes on the second team, while four Mountain Hawks earned All-League accolades, with three on the second team. All three of Lafayette’s All-League honorees made the first team. Both of Holy Cross’s honorees earned a spot on the second team.
Patriot League baseball head coaches voted on the All-League teams and major awards. They were prohibited from voting for their student-athletes or themselves.
2023 Patriot League Baseball Player and Defensive Player of the Year
Kevin Dubrule, Army West Point, Sr., SS, Venice, Fla./Venice
2023 Stats: 49 GP, .399 BA, 198 AB, 46 R, 79 H, 17 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 58 RBI, .601 SLG, .440 OBP
62 PO, 120 A, 10 E, .948 FLD
*Dubrule leads the Patriot League and is 28th in NCAA DI with a .399 batting average, while his 58 RBIs are second in the League and 34th in the nation in 49 games, helping earn Patriot League Player of the Week twice.
*In League play, he ranked atop the Patriot League in batting average (.429), OPS (1.116) and hits (42).
*In 25 League games, Dubrule posted a .958 fielding percentage with 60 assists and 31 put-outs on 95 chances. Overall, he finished third in the League with 120 assists and a .948 fielding percentage.
2023 Patriot League Baseball Pitcher of the Year
Tanner Gresham, Army West Point, Jr., RHP, Charlotte, N.C./Huntersville
2023 Stats: 10 GS, 59.0 IP, 5-1, 2.90 ERA, 3 CG, 2 SHO, 41 H, 21 R, 19 ER, 21 BB, 56 SO, .194 OPP. BA
*Gresham finished second in the Patriot League in ERA (2.90), third in strikeouts (56) and fifth in wins (5) to help Army West Point claim their second straight regular-season titles.
*In League play, the Charlotte, N.C. native went 4-0 with a 1.69 ERA in five starts spanning 32.0 innings. He threw complete-game shutouts against Bucknell (4.2) and Lehigh (4.8).
*He earned three Patriot League Pitcher of the Week honors during the 2023 season.
2023 Patriot League Baseball Rookie of the Year
Jack Toomey, Holy Cross, Fr., OF, Wellesley, Mass./St. Sebastian’s
2023 Stats: 49 GP, .312 BA, 170 AB, 33 R, 53 H, 19 2B, 7 HR, 36 RBI, .547 SLG, .417 OBP
*Toomey led Patriot League freshmen in home runs (7), RBIs (36), runs (33), hits (53) and OPS (.964) while placing second in batting average (.312).
*In League play, the Wellesley, Mass. native batted .291 with four home runs and 17 RBIs in the Crusaders’ 25 League games, finishing ninth in the Patriot League with a .968 OPS in League play.
*He earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors three times.
2023 Patriot League Coach of the Year
Chris Tracz, Army West Point
*In his first season at the helm of the Army West Point program, Tracz led the Black Knights to a Patriot League single-season record of 21 League wins on their way to a second-straight regular-season title.
*In League play, Army West Point featured the League’s best offense, posting a .312 team batting average and scoring 193 runs in 25 League games while leading the League with a 2.86-team ERA.
*The Black Knights led the Patriot League in batting (.299), ERA (4.08) and field percentage (.975) in 49 games this season, leading to a 34-15 mark.
2023 Patriot League Baseball Major Awards
Player of the Year – Kevin Dubrule, Army West Point, Sr., SS
Pitcher of the Year – Tanner Gresham, Army West Point, Jr., RHP
Defensive Player of the Year – Kevin Dubrule, Army West Point, Sr., SS
Rookie of the Year – Jack Toomey, Holy Cross, Fr., OF
Gene Depew Coach of the Year – Chris Tracz, Army West Point
2023 First Team All-Patriot League*
SP: Tanner Gresham, Army West Point, Jr.
SP: Mike Ruggieri, Army West Point, Jr.
SP: Matthew Ronnebaum, Army West Point, Jr.
SP: Alex Walsh, Lafayette, Sr.
RP: Robbie Buecker, Army West Point, Sr.
C: Derek Berg, Army West Point, Jr.
1B: Ross Friedrick, Army West Point, Sr.
2B: Billy Kender, Bucknell, So.
3B: Sean Keys, Bucknell, So.
SS: Kevin Dubrule, Army West Point, Sr.
OF: Braden Golinski, Army West Point, Jr.
OF: Grant Voytovich, Bucknell, Jr.
OF: Peter Ciuffreda, Lafayette, Sr.
OF: Casey Rother, Lehigh, 5th
At-Large: Michael Zarrillo, Lafayette, So
2023 Second Team All-Patriot League*
SP: Luke Rettig, Lehigh, 5th
SP: Nate Mitchell, Navy, Sr.
SP: Matthew Shirah, Navy, Jr.
RP: Landon Kruer, Navy, Jr.
C: Alex Smith, Navy, Sr.
1B: Joe Gorla, Lehigh, 5th
2B: Dom Patrizi, Lehigh, Fr.
3B: Sam Ruta, Army West Point, Jr.
SS: Anthony Sherwin, Bucknell, Jr.
OF: Jack Toomey, Holy Cross, Fr.
OF: Jacob Corson, Bucknell, Jr.
OF: Kyle Lyons, Bucknell, Sr.
OF: Nick Burch, Navy, Sr.
At-Large: Sean Scanlon, Holy Cross, So.
*Additional players added to the first and second teams due to ties in the voting
Seven Earn All-League Honors for the Third Time; Five More Receive Accolades for the Second Time
Lehigh fifth-year outfielder Casey Rother earned First Team All-Patriot League honors for the third time, highlighting a group of seven student-athletes to receive accolades in three seasons. Army’s Kevin Dubrule, Ross Friedrick (Sr., 1B) and Sam Ruta (Jr., 3B), Lafayette’s Peter Ciuffreda (Sr., OF), Lehigh’s Joe Gorla (5th, 1B) and Luke Rettig (5th, LHP) rounded out the list of three-time All-League selections.
Patriot League Pitcher of the Year Tanner Gresham received first-team honors for the second straight season. Army West Point’s Derek Berg (Jr., C) earned a spot on the first team for the second straight season after making the squad as a second baseman in 2022. Bucknell’s Jacob Corson (Jr., OF) and Grant Voytovich (Jr., OF) and Holy Cross’s Sean Scanlon (So., 1B) also received All-League honors for the second time in 2023.
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athlete can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.