D3BASEBALL.COM ALL-REGION

BOSTON – For the second straight season, three members of the Suffolk baseball team brought home D3Baseball.com All-New England accolades as Matt Brenner and Brady Chant were named to the first-team with Chuck Gibson representing the Rams on the second-team, the organization announced Tuesday.

Over 800 student-athletes were nominated for the national poll in its sixth year with the ballot being made available to Sport Information Directors, who voted for a predetermined number of players in their region, as well as the organization's staff and contributors.

The 42 New England student-athletes recognized represented 26 different schools with Suffolk's three nods tying Clark, UMass Boston and Saint Joseph's (Maine) for the most honorees. The Rams were one of just two universities to see a pair of players on the first-team as Southern Maine also saw two of its players on the top squad. The two first-team nods also marked the second-time ever that two Rams were named to the top squad and first time since Suffolk's first-ever D3Baseball.com all-region selections Mike Cunningham and Jake Cintolo in 2013. The accolade marks the first for Brenner and Gibson, who capped off their collegiate careers, while Chant garnered the honor for the second season and first time on the first team.

Brenner had a standout senior season and made history as the first-ever Suffolk catcher to garner D3Baseball.com all-region and did so in first-team fashion, while making the most appearances behind the plate by a single player in a single-season in Suffolk history (45). The Eliot, Maine, native sat in Suffolk's top three in every offensive category with a .333 average (53-for-159) with 10 doubles, four triples and two dingers for 39 runs driven in and 39 runs scored. His offense turned into defense with the captain owning a team-best .993 fielding percentage with 238 putouts, 37 assists and 12 runners caught stealing. The All-GNAC First-Team selection and GNAC All-Tournament team member was also recognized for his stellar success in academics, earning a spot on the CoSIDA Academic All-District team as a double-major in Finance and Global Business, in the Sawyer Business School. 

Chant continues to collect the hardware as the junior put up career numbers in 2017. The Warwick, Rhode Island, product, rewrote the Rams' record books, becoming the all-time single-season and all-time career leader in triples with 12 and 22, respectively. He displaced his previously owned single-season mark at Rhode Island College May 17 in the third inning as he placed his then-10th triple of the year in right center to score one run. The hit good for three bases brought his career total to 20, putting him ahead of Suffolk Hall of Famer Mike Maguire on the all-time annals. Chant notched multiple firsts as the 6-foot-3 centerfielder is the first player in blue-and-gold to produce two triples in one inning in Suffolk history and across NCAA DIII since 2010, accomplishing the feat in the bottom of the third in a 30-8 victory against Anna Maria April 15. He is just the 12th player in NCAA DIII history to record three or more triples in a single outing and the only Ram to do so. Chant led the nation in triples and triples per game this season with 12 and holds the NCAA DIII all-time career triple record with 22, four greater than the student-athlete in second (18). The All-GNAC First-Team honoree led the way in New England in total bases with 118, a number that's good for the top three in the country, off the third-most hits in the region (69) in 191 plate appearances. The GNAC All-Tournament team member number's land among Suffolk's single-season list with his hits and total bases coming in second thanks to the most at-bats by a Ram in a single campaign. Chant contributed the squad's top numbers in runs (47), batting average (.361), slugging percentage (.618), doubles (13) and stolen bases (17) and excelled in the field, notching a fielding percentage of .978 for a GNAC Gold Glove in the outfield.

Gibson commanded the hill for the Rams as the senior put together an 8-1 record in nine starts and 12 appearances. His win column features nationally ranked opponents St. Joseph's (Maine) and a pair of victories over St. John Fisher. The righty from Malden, Massachusetts, was crucial in Suffolk's third straight GNAC Championship as he shoved a three-hit, no-walk, eight-strikeout, 1-0 complete-game title game victory over Johnson & Wales May 7. He was also instrumental in the Rams' NCAA DIII New England Regional opening triumph versus #22/18 St. John Fisher May 18, where Gibson tossed a complete-game, five-hit, three-walk, career-best nine-strikeout 4-0 shutout over the Cardinal. The GNAC Pitcher of the Year, GNAC Tournament MVP and NCAA DIII New England Regional Tournament Team member worked 71.1 innings on the mound and punched out 51 batters.

Brenner, Chant and Gibson helped the Rams to notable season, which featured the program's furthest run into the NCAA DIII New England Regional in its third consecutive trip and seventh overall thanks to Suffolk's third consecutive conference crown.

2017 D3Baseball.com All-New England