Cox named Yahoo! Sports All-American

FAYETTEVILLE – Zack Cox, member of the No. 15 University of Arkansas baseball team, has earned a spot on the Yahoo! Sports All-America Team as announced Tuesday afternoon. The Louisville, Ky., native was selected as the designated hitter for the 16-man team. This marks the second All-America honor of the season for Cox; last week, he received second-team Ping!Baseball accolades.

During his sophomore campaign, Cox emerged as one of the top hitters in the nation. He leads the Southeastern Conference with his school-record .429 batting average, which tops the previous figure of .425 set by Jeremy Jackson in 1997. Cox also set Arkansas’ single-season record with 102 hits, becoming the first Razorback to eclipse the 100-hit mark. He broke the previous tally of 97 hits by Matt Erickson in 1996.

In addition to leading the SEC in batting average, he is second in on-base percentage (.505), third in hits (102), fourth in runs scored (67), eighth in slugging percentage (.609) and tied for tenth in total bases (145). Cox finished the 2010 season with nine home runs, 14 doubles and career-high 48 RBI.

Cox opened the season with a 24-game hitting streak and followed that streak with a hit in 14 consecutive games. He ended the year with a 10-game hitting streak. Cox hit safely in 55 of the 59 games he played in this season with a team-high 35 multi-hit performances. On his way to collecting SEC Player of the Week honors (March 29), he turned in a career-high six RBI in the Hogs’ series opener against Alabama.

Along with his All-America status this season, Cox was named to the All-SEC First Team. He was also a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy. A champion in the classroom, as well, Cox was selected to the 2010 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America Third Team with a 3.34 grade-point average as a communication major.

Cox is one of three players from the SEC to be recognized by Yahoo! Sports. Cox and the Razorbacks finished the season with a 43-21 record after a trip to the Tempe Super Regional. It was Arkansas’ fourth overall and second consecutive appearance in the Super Regional round.