GREENSBORO, NC – West Chester University landed four players on the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Division II All-Atlantic Region squad it was announced Wednesday.
The 2024 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Div. II All-Region teams and Regional Players of the Year have been announced in all eight regions. The teams are voted on by members of the American Baseball Coaches Association and the process is led by the
ABCA NCAA Div. II All-America & Coach of the Year Committee.
Outfielder
Anthony Boccio (Coatesville, Pa./Coatesville), catcher
John DeMucci (Swarthmore, Pa./Msgr. Bonner & Prendie) and
shortstop
Sean Szestowicki (Mount Royal, N.J./Kingsway Regional) were honored for the third time on an all-region squad making them consensus All-Atlantic Region picks, having appeared on the NCBWA, D2CCA and now ABCA all-region teams. Sophomore pitcher
Julian Costa (Mantua, N.J./Clearview) is making his first appearance on an all-region ledger.
Frostburg State first baseman Ethan Kiple was named the region's player of the year and East
Stroudsburg starting pitcher Brent Francisco was voted the pitcher of the year. The ABCA/Rawlings region teams are voted on by regional coaches. The members of the first team advance to the national ballot for All-America consideration.
That means that Boccio will have a shot at being named an ABCA All-American. He was the Golden Rams' lone first team selection.
DeMucci, Szestowicki and Costa were all second team selections.
Boccio, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division athlete of the year and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Associatoin (NCBWA) regional player of the year, hit .400 in 52 games and 155 at bats with 10 doubles, 5 triples and 3 home runs. His 48 RBI are ranked second in the conference. His .553 on-base percentage this spring is the second highest mark in a single season in West Chester baseball history. He posted a .587 slugging percentage, a 1.140 OPS and stole 17 stolen bases in 19 attempts. The D3 transfer from Widener University certainly made the transition to Division II look seamless. He rapped out 62 hits and scored 59 runs while collecting his 200th career base hit on a bunt single in the PSAC Tournament.
DeMucci finished sixth on the team in hitting with a .328 batting average, recording 60 hits and scoring 45 runs while driving in 32 more. He has legged out 11 doubles, 1 triple and 3 home runs and authored a .865 OPS, working 24 walks, and tying with
Boccio for third on the team in stolen bases, swiping 17 bags on 18 attempts. The local product returned to his traditional home behind the plate shortly after the team came north from Cary, N.C., and mentored the Golden Rams' pitching staff throughout the season while also throwing out six would-be base
stealers.
Szestowicki's transformation during his final season as a Golden Ram was nothing short of
specatacular. He hit .354 at the plate, third best on the team and 12th in the
PSAC, but more importantly was a drastic improvement from his .241 average a year ago and .259 mark his first year at West Chester. He is also one of three starters on the Golden Rams to produce an OPS north of 1.000 (1.054), which ranked sixth in the PSAC for much of the year, while also posting a regular season slugging percentage of .578 that is more than 250 points higher than his .328 mark in 2023.
Szestowicki was also one of only four shortstops in the
PSAC East to hit better than .300 this spring.
Costa makes his first appearance on an all-region team in the postseason. He left-handed ace of West Chester's staff finished the year 8-3 overall with a 3.41 earned-run average. He struck out 73 batters in 71 innings. He also completed three games and earned one save on the year. Costa authored a 1.35 WHIP this spring.
The Chair of the ABCA NCAA Div. II All-America & Coach of the Year Committee is Rudy Garbalosa of Lynn University. Also on the committee are Randy Betten (Cal Poly Pomona), Jim Gantt (Catawba College), Rick Giannetti (Dominican College), Dave Hajek (University of Colorado at Colorado Springs), Ryan Kelley (Wayne State University), Alex Koch (Wayne State College) and Marc Marizzaldi (Seton Hill University). The ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Div. II All-America teams will be announced on Friday, May 31. Only First Team All-Region selections are eligible for All-America honors. The ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove teams for all divisions will be announced on Wednesday, June 19. The ABCA NCAA Div. II Region All-Defensive teams will be announced on Thursday, June 20. The ABCA All-America team was first recognized in 1949 and now includes nine divisions: NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA Divisions I, II and III, Pacific Association Division, and high school. ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove teams were first recognized in 2007.
