FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- Becoming just the second offensive player to earn Conference Rookie of the Year honors in the history of the program, Christopher Newport freshman Jay Cassady was tabbed the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year on Wednesday morning. He was joined by six others as All-Conference selections while senior Conner Clark was pegged the C2C Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. 

Cassady joins outfielder Mike Giarrizzi (2006) as the only players in program history to collect Rookie of the Year honors as Giarrizzi did so as a member of the USA South Athletic Conference. Kenny Moreland (2005) and Brandon Taylor (2013) each earned Rookie Pitcher of the Year plaudits as well; Cassady is the first to garner the recognition as members of the C2C. 

Joining his freshman teammate among the major award winners, Conner Clark becomes the first Captain to earn Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors with his selection Wednesday. Selected from nominees from each of the conference institutions, he must be a starter or important reserve in his junior or senior season with a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.50. 

In addition to the major award winners, seven Captains collected All-Conference designation in 2021. On the first, team senior starting pitcher Josh Husby was a repeat selection and was joined by Eric O'Brien (C), Jonathan Fisher (SS), and Scott Crosson (OF). Three more CNU players earned second team All-League plaudits as rookie Matt Gaither (RP), sophomore Kyle Schofield (DH), and Cassady (1B) each earned the certificate in their first season with the Captains. 

After a comparatively slow start to the season at the plate, Cassady put together one of the most impressive turnarounds in program history and ranks among the finest freshman seasons all-time at CNU. With just five hits in his first 24 at-bats, the rookie was hitting .208 at the end of March; since, the left-handed slugger has gone 28-for-66, hitting .424 with 10 multi-hit performances in 18 games at the plate. He ripped off a rookie record-tying 14-game hit streak and currently ranks third all-time among freshman batting averages behind only Shannon Mark (.408 in 2009) and Les Smith (.376 in 1995). 

For his efforts in mid-April, Cassady was named the C2C Player of the Week. The week included five wins, including a pair over nationally-ranked North Carolina Wesleyan; Cassady was dominant both at the plate and on the mound as he hit .533 with an OPS of 1.878 while also picking up the win over the Bishops while striking out seven in 5.0 innings of work. Heading into this weekend's championship series, Cassady leads the team with a slash line of .367/.656/.477, headlining the squad in all three categories. He ranks second on the team in RBI with 27, tied for first in home runs with four, and first in doubles, with 12. The 12 two-baggers ranks second among freshman seasons all-time at CNU. 

While Cassady has helped lead the run production, Conner Clark has set the table as the All-Region leadoff man in a record-breaking campaign. This season, he stole his 91st base to set a new program record in just his third full year and the active Division III leader now has 92 on his ledger. The three-time Academic All-Conference selection ranks third on the team with a .323 average while ranking second on the team in runs scored with 23. His 17 stolen bases are tied for second in the C2C this season. 

Aside from the two major award winners, the seven All-Conference selections are the second most since joining the conference, formerly known as the Capital Athletic Conference. 

Josh Husby was the lone repeat selection in this year's postseason awards as the senior right-handed starter grabbed his second first team certificate after also earning the honor in 2019. This season, Husby was the ace of the staff with a 5-0 record and a 2.34 ERA in eight starts for the Captains. He struck out 44 batters in 50.0 innings of work while holding opponents to a .219 average. 

His battery mate, Eric O'Brien, garnered his first career All-Conference designation with a first team pick at catcher. O'Brien leads the team in RBI with 31 and ranks second with a .336 average. O'Brien is one of the toughest batters to strikeout in the conference, with only 8 K's in 125 at-bats this season, and one of the most sound defensive players in program history with a .991 career fielding percentage. 

Sophomore shortstop Jonathan Fisher put together an excellent season out of the two-hole, hitting .291 with a team-high four home runs. He has scored 40 runs in just 32 games to lead the team and has a team-high 22 walks this season as well. Fisher is one of only two players to start all 32 games this season and has offered reliable defense at shortstop with a .910 fielding percentage in 111 chances. 

Rounding out the first team All-Conference picks was freshman outfielder Scott Crosson, who is hitting .310 in 23 games played so far. He has 26 hits in 84 at-bats with nine extra-base knocks. He is averaging an RBI per game with 20 so far while scoring 17 times. Crosson has also gone a perfect 6-for-6 in stolen base opportunities. 

The second team All-Conference picks featured a trio of newcomers for the Captains as Gaither, Schofield, and Cassady are each in their first year in Newport News. Gaither was one of the most reliable arms in the bullpen posting a 3-1 record with 2 saves in a league-leading 18 appearances this year. He ranks 14th nationally in total pitching appearances and has a 3.32 ERA in his first campaign. Schofield was the starting DH for the bulk of the season and ranks fourth on the team with a .317 average. He has delivered 22 RBI and 23 runs scored with 11 extra-base hits. 

The Captains, seeded second in the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship, will travel to face top-seeded and fifth-ranked Salisbury University for a best-of-three championship series this weekend. The first game will be played at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, May 21 with the second and, if necessary, third games being held starting at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. 

2021 Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Baseball All-Conference Awards

C2C Player of the Year: Justin Meekins - Salisbury
C2C Pitcher of the Year: Clayton Dwyer - Salisbury
C2C Rookie of the Year: Jay Cassady - Christopher Newport
C2C Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Conner Clark - Christopher Newport