July 31, 2000
NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- Notre Dame junior righthander Aaron Heilman (Logansport, Ind.)
recently was named a second team All-American by the American Baseball
Coaches Association, completing an award-packed 2000 season that saw
Heilman named to three of the four major All-America teams.
Heilman earlier was one of six pitchers to earn first team
All-America designation from Collegiate Baseball magazine while being named
a second team All-American by USA Today Baseball Weekly (which named three
pitchers to its first team and three to the second team). He is just the
second Notre Dame baseball player ever to earn three major All-America
honors in the same season, joining outfielder Eric Danapilis (who was a
first-team selection by the ABCA, CB and Baseball America).
The ABCA named five pitchers to its first team All-America squad
while Heilman was one of six hurlers to earn second-team designation.
Heilman-who was selected by the Minnesota Twins with the 31st pick
of the 2000 Major League Baseball draft but has yet to sign with the
Twins-is the first Irish player ever to earn All-America honors in three
seasons and has totaled six All-America designations during his three-year
at career at Notre Dame, with Danapilis representing the only other Irish
player to accumulate more than two All-America citations (3).
Six Notre Dame baseball players have achieved All-America status,
with each of them being named to the ABCA team: catcher Elmer Kohorst (1st
team in '56 and '57), outfielder Dan Peltier (1st team, '89), Danapilis,
outfielder Ryan Topham (3rd team, '95), Heilman (3rd team in '99, 2nd team
in 2000) and third baseman Brant Ust (3rd team, '98). Heilman's other two
All-America honors include third-team designation from CB in 1998 and '99.
Heilman joined Bowling Green's Tony Fontana and Jason Anderson of
Illinois as the three starting pitchers who were named first team
all-Mideast Region by the ABCA.
An updated biography of Heilman is included on the Notre Dame
website, at the following link:
http://und.fansonly.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/heilman_aaron01.html
BIG EAST BONANZA: The BIG EAST Conference continued to show that it ranks
among the nation's top conferences, as four players from BIG EAST teams
earned ABCA All-America honors: Rutgers senior SS Darren Fenster (1st
team), Heilman (2nd team), Boston College senior utility player Steve
Langone (2nd team) and Rutgers freshman RHP Bob Brownlie (3rd team) ...
only the Pacific-10 Conference (6) and the Southeastern Conference (5)
placed more players on the ABCA first and second teams than the BIG EAST
(3) ... the BIG EAST's four ABCA All-Americans ranked as the fourth-most
from any Division I conference.
2000 ABCA/RAWLINGS DIVISION I ALL-AMERICANS
First Team: RHP - JASON ANDERSON (JR, ILLINOIS), *KIP BOUKNIGHT (JR, SOUTH
CAROLINA), JUSTIN WAYNE (JR, STANFORD), LHP - LENNY DiNARDO (SO, STETSON),
RELIEF RHP - CORY SCOTT (SR, EAST CAROLINA), UTIL - JEFF BAJENARU (SR,
OKLAHOMA), C - BRAD CRESSE (SR, LSU) 1B - TODD FAULKNER (JR, AUBURN), 2B -
CHASE UTLEY (JR, UCLA), SS - DARREN FENSTER - (SR, RUTGERS), 3B - MARK
TEXEIRA (SO, GEORGIA TECH), DH - JASON DUBOIS (JR, VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH),
OF - FRANK CORR (JR, STETSON), GABE GROSS (SO, AUBURN), MITCH JONES (SR,
ARIZONA STATE), BILL SCOTT (SO, UCLA).
* - Player of the year
Second Team: RHP - KYLE CROWELL (JR, HOUSTON), RIK CURRIER (JR, USC), AARON
HEILMAN (JR, NOTRE DAME), SHANE KOMINE (SO, NEBRASKA), LHP - KENNY HOLUREC
(JR, LOUISIANA-MONROE), RELIEF RHP - CHARLIE THAMES (JR, TEXAS), UTIL -
STEVE LANGONE (SR, BOSTON COLLEGE), C - CASEY MYERS (JR, ARIZONA STATE), 1B
- PHILIP HARTIG (JR, CITADEL), 2B - MATT EASTERDAY (JR, GEORGIA SOUTHERN),
ANDREW SALVO (JR, DELAWARE), SS - TIM HUMMEL (JR, OLD DOMINION), 3B - SHAWN
FAGAN (SR, PENN STATE), JAKE GAUTREAU (SO, TULANE), DH - JOHN-FORD GRIFFIN
(SO, FLORIDA STATE), OF - MIKE CAMPO (SR, PENN STATE), JOE INGLETT (SR,
NEVADA), TIM OLSON (JR, FLORIDA), BRYAN PECK (SR, MIDDLE TENNESSEE).
Third Team: RHP - PETER BAUER (JR, SOUTH CAROLINA), BOB BROWNLIE (FR,
RUTGERS), BEAU HALE (JR, TEXAS), CHAD HAWKINS (SR, BAYLOR), JOHN NOVINSKY
(JR, IONA), LHP - JUSTIN GABRIEL (JR, LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE), RELIEF RHP -
SCOTT BARBER (JR, SOUTH CAROLINA), UTIL - MIKE WOMBACHER (SR,
LOUISIANA-MONROE), C - JESSE GUITIERREZ (JR, TEXAS PAN AMERICAN), JEFF
HAASE (SR, CLEVELAND STATE), 1B - GARRETT ATKINS (JR, UCLA), 2B - CHRIS
BURKE (SO, TENNESSEE), BLAKE BLASI (JR, WICHITA STATE), SS - JEFF KEPPINGER
(SO, GEORGIA), RYAN STEGALL (SO, MISSOURI), KELLY EDDLEMON (SR, SAM HOUSTON
STATE, 3B - JUSTIN GEMOLL (SR, USC), DH - MATT HOPPER (FR, NEBRASKA), OF -
JEREMY JOHNSON (SR, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI), WADE RIKERT (SR, VERMONT), CHRIS
SMITH (SO, FLORIDA STATE), JASON TURNER (SR, OHIO STATE), MATT WALKER (SR,
GEORGE WASHINGTON).
