2020 Michigan Baseball Awards and Honors
3/10/2020 12:30:00 PM | Baseball
Steven Hajjar (March 10)
Big Ten Freshman of the Week -- Redshirt freshman Steven Hajjar had a fantastic performance against No. 24 Pepperdine, tossing six innings and allowing just two runs on five hits for a quality start. Most impressive in Hajjar's third win of the season was the left-hander's career-high 10 strikeouts, besting his previous high of seven at Arizona State. Hajjar leads the Wolverines with a 3-0 record this season while limiting opponents to just a .240 batting average. The honor is his second of the season. » Big Ten Release
Steven Hajjar (Feb. 17)
Big Ten Pitcher/Freshman of the Week -- Redshirt freshman Steven Hajjar earned the nod for both Big Ten Pitcher and Freshman of the Week. Hajjar made his collegiate debut Saturday (Feb. 15) against consensus top-10 opponent Arizona State, twirling a gem over six innings to lead the Wolverines' to their second top-10 victory of the weekend. The lefty tossed six innings and allowed just three hits and two walks while striking out seven against a vaunted Arizona State offense. » Big Ten Release
Jeff Criswell, Jordan Nwogu (Feb. 13)
USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List -- Junior starting pitcher Jeff Criswell and outfielder Jordan Nwogu were each named to the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award preseason watchlist, beginning the process of identifying the top amateur baseball player in the country for the 2020 season. Criswell and Nwogu are just the fifth and sixth players in Michigan baseball history to be named to the preseason list. » USA Baseball Release
Willie Weiss (Feb. 11)
NCBWA Preseason Stopper of the Year Watch List -- Sophomore reliever Willie Weiss was named by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) as one of the players to watch in the race for the Stopper of the Year Award, given annually by the organization to the best reliever in college baseball. » NCBWA Release
Jordan Nwogu, Jeff Criswell, Jesse Franklin, Willie Weiss (Feb. 6)
National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Preseason All-America Team -- Junior outfielder Jordan Nwogu was named to the Preseason All-America first team by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA). Fellow juniors Jeff Criswell and Jesse Franklin were second team Preseason All-Americans, while sophomore Willie Weiss was tabbed third team. This marks the third Preseason All-American honor for both Nwogu and Criswell, and the second for Franklin and Weiss. » NCBWA Release
Jesse Franklin (Jan. 28)
Baseball America Preaseason All-America -- Junior outfielder Jesse Franklin was named a second team preseason All-American by Baseball America. Baseball America annually polls major league organizations' scouting departments to vote on the team and asks that they make their selections based on performance, talent and professional potential. It is the first preseason award for Franklin, an All-Big Ten third team selection in 2019 while hitting .262 with a .388 on-base percentage, 15 doubles, 13 home runs and 55 runs batted in. » Baseball America Release
Jeff Criswell, Jordan Nwogu (Jan. 7)
Perfect Game/Rawlings Preseason All-America Team -- Junior starting pitcher Jeff Criswell and outfielder Jordan Nwogu each earned third team Preseason All-American nods from Perfect Game. This is the second preseason All-America honor in as many months for Criswell and Nwogu, who were named preseason All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper on Dec. 17. » Perfect Game Release
Jeff Criswell, Jordan Nwogu, Willie Weiss (Dec. 17)
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Preseason All-America Team -- Junior starting pitcher Jeff Criswell was named a first team Preseason All-American, while sophomore reliever Willie Weiss and junior outfielder Jordan Nwogu each earned a spot on the third team.
Criswell earned the first-team nod after going 7-1 with a 2.72 earned-run average as a sophomore last season. The right-hander struck out 116 batters in 106 innings for the Wolverines, while surrendering just 17 extra-base hits. Criswell earned All-Big Ten first team honors after his sophomore campaign.
Weiss was a Perfect Game and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Freshman All-America selection after his rookie campaign in 2019. The righty appeared in 27 games and finished the season with nine saves, a 2.97 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 39.1 innings of work. Weiss also earned a spot on the All-Big Ten Freshman Team.
Nwogu established himself as one of the most electric leadoff batters in college baseball during his sophomore season, hitting .321 while scoring a team-leading 58 runs, slugging .557 and getting on base at a .435 clip. The designated hitter earned American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-America second team and All-Mideast Region first team honors, as well as being an All-Big Ten first team and an Academic All-Big Ten selection.
