Nick Schmidt Named First-Team All-American by Louisville Slugger

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas sophomore left-handed pitcher Nick Schmidt was a named a Louisville Slugger First-Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball on Friday.

Schmidt, a native of St. Louis, is 9-3 in 2006 with a 2.98 ERA and 135 strikeouts in 108.2 innings for the 17th-ranked Razorbacks. He was named the SEC Pitcher of the Year last week by the 12 league coaches and selected as an All-American by the College Baseball Foundation earlier this week.

“Nick established himself as a special talent as soon as he stepped on campus and has only gotten better during his time here,” Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn said. “There are a lot of tremendous pitchers in college baseball, so being selected as a first-team All-American is an outstanding honor that Nick deserves.”

Schmidt garnered freshman All-America honors in 2005 after completing an 8-2 campaign with a 2.80 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 99.2 innings. He has six wins over top-25 competition this season and 11 in his two-year Razorback career.

The lefty’s 135 strikeouts this season are the second most in a single season in school history, while his 224 career strikeouts currently rank sixth at Arkansas.

Schmidt is the first Hog to earn All-America honors since David Walling and Charlie Isaacson in 1999. He is the 16th Razorback to earn All-America honors in 83 years of varsity baseball at Arkansas.

The 17-man first team, chosen by performances up to regional playoffs and picked by the staff of "Collegiate Baseball" newspaper, features 10 conference players or pitchers of the year, including SEC Pitcher of the Year Schmidt and SEC Player of the Year Kentucky first baseman Ryan Strieby.

Schmidt will start Arkansas’ opening game of the NCAA Fayetteville Regional against Oral Roberts on Friday at 7 p.m. from Baum Stadium.

It is the 10th year that Louisville Slugger has sponsored the Division-I All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball.