Matthews Named Freshman All-American by Baseball America
Jun 30 | Baseball
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - Rutgers first baseman Jaren Matthews (Teaneck, N.J.) was named a Second Team Freshman All-American by Baseball America, the publication announced on Monday.
It marks the second All-American honor for Matthews following his standout rookie season with the Scarlet Knights. The power hitter was also named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball earlier in the month.
Matthews, who was also named a Third Team All-BIG EAST selection by the league's coaches, was one of two Scarlet Knights to start all 53 games in 2008. The freshman finished the season with a team-best 10 home runs and 54 RBI. He hit .294 overall with a team-best 63 hits, including 11 doubles and two triples. He also earned 21 walks and was successful in eight of his nine stolen base attempts this season. Matthews' RBI total tied for seventh-most in the BIG EAST, while his home run total was tied for ninth-most in the conference through the regular season. During regular season league play, the Scarlet Knight tied for the BIG EAST lead with 30 RBI. He tied for second in the league with seven home runs and ranked 11th with a .570 slugging percentage during conference action. Matthews was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week on March 31 after hitting .412 with an .882 slugging percentage in five games. He collected three doubles, a triple and a home run, while scoring 10 runs during the span.
Matthews is the first Scarlet Knight to be named to the Freshman All-American team since Todd Frazier earned consensus Freshman All-American honors in 2005.
Matthews, who was a standout on one of the top scholastic teams in the nation at Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey, also earned Second Team All-State honors by the New Jersey Collegiate Baseball Association.
