University of Houston Athletics
Cougars Rack Up Conference Honors
5/20/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 20, 2002
Tulane senior second baseman James Jurries has been named Conference USA Player of the Year, while Houston sophomore righthander Brad Sullivan was selected as the league's Pitcher of the Year, it was announced Monday in Kinston, N.C., site of the 2002 C-USA Baseball Tournament.
After leading his Cardinal squad to 38 wins and a second place finish in Conference USA, Louisville's Lelo Prado was named Coach of the Year. Freshman of the Year honors went to East Carolina first baseman Darryl Lawhorn. Voting was done by a panel consisting of each head coach, each team's sports information director and a media representative from each city.
Jurries ranks in Conference USA's all-time top 10 in nine different statistical categories, owning the league records for career total bases (605) and runs scored (279), while ranking second in hits (335), home runs (61) and RBI (255). This season, Jurries leads the league in slugging percentage (.791), on-base percentage (.510), total bases (167), runs scored (72), home runs (19) and RBI (68). He has also hit 15 doubles, stolen 27 bases and walked 41 times. This marks the fourth straight season that a Tulane player has earned Player of the Year honors (Jake Gautreau in 2000, 01 and Chad Sutter 1999).
Sullivan has established a new school record for strikeouts in a season with 134, while posting a 10-1 record. Opponents are hitting a league-low .170 against him and he has a conference-best 2.18 ERA. Three times this season Sullivan was named C-USA Pitcher of the Week and twice he earned National Pitcher of the Week honors. He has recorded five double figure strikeout games this season, including a school-record 16 in just seven innings against Memphis on April 12. This is the third time in the last four years that a Houston hurler has won Pitcher of the Year honors (Kyle Crowell in 1999, 2000).
"I think they (the awards and honors) are just a testament to the banner year that we had," said Houston head coach Rayner Noble following the banquet. "And for Brad to win the Pitcher of the Year Award, he had a great year. I think he only had one bad outing all season. And for Cooley, Crain and Snyder, they all had banner years as well."
Prado was named Coach of the Year after leading the Cardinals to school records for conference wins (21) and overall wins (39). Picked in the preseason coaches poll to finish ninth, Louisville entered the final weekend of the season with a chance to win the regular season title before finishing second behind No. 10-ranked Houston. Prado led the Cardinals into the national rankings this season for just the second time in school history and has U of L on the verge of its first-ever NCAA appearance. Prado, who was named ABCA National Coach of the Year in back-to-back seasons after leading the University of Tampa to the 1992 and 1993 Division II National Championships, will serve as the head coach for USA Baseball's National Team this summer.
Lawhorn has broken ECU's freshman season records for hits (90), home runs (16), RBI (56), and total bases (155). He is eight hits and 13 total bases shy of the school's overall season records for both those categories. Lawhorn's hit total is tied for the conference lead and he ranks second in batting (.413), on-base percentage (.502) and total bases (155).
Regular season champion Houston placed a league-high five representatives on the All-Conference first team, including shortstop/relief pitcher Jesse Crain, the first player to be named first team All-Conference USA at two positions in the same year. Southern Miss had three selections, Cincinnati and Tulane had two selections while East Carolina, Louisville, Saint Louis and TCU had one each.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: James Jurries, Tulane
PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Brad Sullivan, Houston
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Darryl Lawhorn, East Carolina
COACH OF THE YEAR: Lelo Prado, Louisville
FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
IF Jesse Crain Houston, IF James Jurries Tulane, IF Darryl Lawhorn East Carolina, IF Brad Schutz Cincinnati, IF Allen Winningham Southern Miss, OF Brett Cooley Houston, OF Jeff Cook Southern Miss, OF Mark Jurich Louisville, OF Terry Trofholz TCU, C Chris Snyder Houston, DH Joe List Cincinnati, P Nick Bourgeois Tulane, P Shea Douglas Southern Miss, P Corey Lawson Saint Louis, P Brad Sullivan Houston, RP Jesse Crain Houston,
SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
IF Jeff Baisley South Florida, IF Morgan Bojorquez Louisville, IF Myron Leslie South Florida, IF Walter Olmstead TCU, IF George Sandel Charlotte, OF Michael Bourn Houston, OF Aaron Feldman Tulane, OF Jon Kaplan Tulane, OF Chris Meeks TCU, C Chris Hamblen Cincinnati, DH Ken Tirpack Louisville, P Zach Jackson Louisville, P Clayton Jerome TCU, P Bob McCrory Southern Miss, P Sam Narron East Carolina, RP Joey Charron Tulane,
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Jeff Baisley, 3B, South Florida; Gerald Clark, Of, Tulane; Brent Dlugach, SS, Memphis; Jarrett Hoffpauir, 2B, Southern Miss; Devin Ivany, C, South Florida; Zach Jackson, P, Louisville; Darryl Lawhorn, 1B, East Carolina; Stuart Musslewhite, 2B, Houston; Cliff Russum, P, Southern Miss; Matt Shepherd, SS, Southern Miss; Brad Willcutt, C, Southern Miss
