Senior Mike Cunningham (Syosett, N.Y.) of the Suffolk University Baseball team was named to the 2013 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings All-American team. Cunningham was a second team selection to the NCAA Division-III team as an outfielder.
Cunningham is the first Suffolk player in a decade to receive one of college baseball's top honors since Mike Maguire '05 was honored by the ABCA in 2003. He is the fourth player to earn All-American status under current Head Coach Cary McConnell as he joins Maguire, Max Nunez (ABCA '00) and Bobby Barrett (D3Baseball.com '09) to also receive national honors.
The 2013 season has brought several distinctive honors for Cunningham as he was also tabbed as a first-team All-Region selection by the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA), the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Player of the Year as well as being named to the GNAC's first All-Conference team and All-Tournament team.
Cunningham rounds out the season ranking in the top 20 nationally in several offensive categories. His .430 batting average ranks number 16 and number two in New England, while he also has the second best mark in the region in on-base percentage (.517), the nation's 17th best mark in that category. His 10 home runs lead the New England region and also place him eighth among all NCAA Division-III hitters in the country, while his .725 slugging percentage is the 12th highest mark in the nation. Cunningham also drove in 44 runs this year for Suffolk while collecting 103 total bases. He becomes just the second Suffolk player to ever record at least 60 hits and hit 10 home runs in a single season.
Head Baseball Coach Cary McConnell commended Cunningham on what he was able to accomplish over the past season. "Mike has been an invaluable asset to our team this year not just in his play but also through his leadership. His commitment to bringing the best out in himself and his teammates is a reflection of his strong character. He has deserved his success and all of his accolades this year. We are very proud of what he has been able to accomplish for our team and the mark he has left on our program."
Suffolk finished the 2013 season with a 29-14 record advancing to the GNAC tournament finals for the seventh straight year while also earning the program's tenth Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) postseason appearance.
Cunningham will represent Suffolk University as part of the NEIBA All-Star game on Monday June 3rd that will be held at LeLacheur Park in Lowell beginning at 7:00pm.