June 16, 2016 D1Baseball All-American teams
MALIBU, Calif. - A.J. Puckett picked up yet another All-American award today, being named to D1Baseball.com's first team. He is the only West Coast Conference player named to the outlet's first team.
Puckett has already been named a first-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America. Now a member of the Kansas City Royals' organization, Puckett was selected by the defending World Series champs in the second round (67th overall) of last week's Major League Baseball Draft. He was the Royals' top overall selection and has since signed with the club.
The junior right-hander is coming off of one of the most remarkable seasons in Pepperdine history after leading the Waves to their third straight appearance in the WCC Tournament. Puckett put up the third best ERA in both Pepperdine and WCC history, and fourth best in the NCAA this year, with a 1.27 mark on the season.
Puckett went 9-3 for the Waves, leading Pepperdine to a 29-win season and 16-11 mark in the WCC. He put up one of the most dominant stretches in NCAA history, tossing 45.2 consecutive scoreless innings and 57.1 consecutive innings without giving up an earned run. Both marks were Pepperdine records and the 45.2 scoreless inning streak was the third longest in NCAA history. Puckett posted eight starts this year in which he did not allow an earned run and seven in which he did not give up a run at all. He also had five starts with at least eight strikeouts and one or fewer walks, including a complete-game shutout of Portland in which he struck out a career-high 12 batters and walked none.
Puckett finished the year fourth in the NCAA in ERA, 10th in WHIP (0.92) and 16th in hits allowed per nine innings (5.89), also leading the WCC in all three categories. He held opponents to a .191 batting average, all while striking out 95 batters and walking just 26.
The Waves' ace was named WCC Pitcher of the Year this season, is currently a finalist for the National Pitcher of the Year award and was named and was named a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award.
