Closer, shortstop get team honors

BOCA RATON — Nearly two weeks after almost upsetting the top-ranked Florida Gators in the NCAA baseball tournament, Florida Atlantic received some accolades for its successful season.

Junior closer Zach Schneider was named a second-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. He and shortstop Tyler Frank were also selected to the first-team All-Central Region by the The American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings. Frank was an honorable mention All-American pick by Perfect Game.

Both players helped the Owls to a 43-19-1 finish. They fell one victory short of advancing to last week’s Super Regional, falling 5-2 to the Gators in their last game.

Schneider, who is the 19th Owls player to earn AllAmerican honors, led Conference USA and ranked No. 7 nationally with 15 saves. He was 7-1 and had a 2.61 ERA. The save total was the second-highest in school history.

Frank was a first-team all-conference selection and also the league’s defensive player of the year. This season, he was second on the team with 13 home runs and third in batting average (.307). He also finished with a team-high 68 runs scored.

He was drafted in the second round by the Tampa Bay Rays. As the No. 56 pick, he is the highest selected player in school history. He signed a contract last weekend.