
Three Deacs Named to All-ACC Academic Baseball Team
6/26/2012 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 26, 2012
By Steven Wright, Wake Forest Media Relations (@SIDeacons)
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Mac Williamson, Tim Cooney and Evan Stephens have all been named to the 2012 All-Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Baseball Team, as announced by the conference office on Tuesday.
This marks the first time that each of the three players has earned the award, while Stephens was also named First Team Capital One Academic All-District 3.
All three Demon Deacons are finance majors at Wake Forest and made a big impact on the field this season.
Williamson earned First Team All-ACC honors at the end of the regular season and was then drafted in the 3rd Round by the San Francisco Giants in the 2012 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft. Williamson led the ACC with 17 home runs and started 53 games for Wake Forest.
The Wake Forest, N.C., native also led the Deacs with 52 RBIs and a .589 slugging percentage, while collecting 12 stolen bases and committing just one error in the outfield.
Like Williamson, Cooney was also drafted in the 3rd Round of this year's draft. He was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals after posting a 3.82 ERA in a team-leading 99.0 innings of work. A Second Team All-ACC selection as a sophomore in 2011, Cooney ended the 2012 campaign with 90 strikeouts and a 6-7 record in 15 starts.
Coming to Wake Forest from Collegeville, Pa., Cooney ended his career ranked eighth all-time in school history in innings pitched (278.0) and is tied for eighth with 235 strikeouts.
Stephens, who was dubbed by head coach Tom Walter as the most pleasant surprise of the season on the field, had a breakout year that included 48 starts and 56 games played. Entering the year without a hit after an injury-shortened freshman season, Stephens hit .289 with 40 runs scored, four doubles and two homers.
Hailing from Lexington, Ky., Stephens was the team's best bunter with eight sacrifice bunts and eventually earned the starting center field spot where he excelled on defense.
Wake Forest ended its season with a 33-24 overall record and finished seventh in the ACC with a 13-17 record in conference play.