WASHINGTON – VCU senior Brandon Eike earned recognition as the Atlantic 10 Baseball Player of the Year while Dayton senior Nick Wissman was voted A-10 Pitcher of the Year. The league anounced both awards, along with Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year Wednesday.
 
Graduate student Aaron Whitley of Richmond was named Defensive Player of the Year and Dayton freshman David Mendez was tabbed Rookie of the Year. Longtime Saint Louis skipper Darin Hendrickson earned the Coach of the Year laurels.

The Atlantic 10 released the five superlative awards along with the All-Conference, All-Rookie and All-Academic teams Wednesday prior to the Second Round of 2024 A-10 Baseball Championship, which began Tuesday at Capital One Park in Tysons, Va. The major honors, All-Conference teams and All-Rookie team were voted on by the A-10 baseball head coaches while the All-Academic team was selected by the baseball communications directors.

Eike led the Rams in all three slash line percentages, and paced the league in hits (81) and doubles (26) and was top five in the A-10 in batting average (.365), slugging percentage (.626), OPS (1.089), RBI (54) and walks (37). The infielder from Powhatan, Va., ranked second nationally in doubles, fourth in doubles per game

Wissman is sixth nationally in wins, finishing the regular season with 10. A right-hander from Dayton, he was third in the league in ERA (2.98), and walks allowed (10) second in earned runs allowed (20), and first in fewest homers surrendered (3). Used as a reliever, he also accumulated seven saves, which was second in the Atlantic 10.

Whitley is an outfielder from Niskayuna, N.Y. He posted a fielding percentage of 1.000 which is tied for tops in the league, recording 102 putouts in 103 chances. He also batted .328 with 46 runs and 54 hits.
 
An infielder out of Aldie, Va., Mendez ranked in the top 10 in the league in batting average (.348), on-base percentage (.452), RBI (47), triples (2), walks (30) and stolen bases (22). He started 43 out of 48 games in the regular season in his first year, and ranked in the top three at Dayton in most hitting categories.
 
The winningest coach in SLU history, Hendrickson crossed 1,000 career wins and 500 wins at Saint Louis this season. He has posted six seasons of 35 wins or more in 16 years helming the Billikens. This is his third Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year accolade. He is a native of Granite City, Ill.

The 2024 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship continues with Second Round contests Wednesday. The tripleheader begins at 11:00 am ET / 10 am CT. The entirety of the A-10 Baseball Championship will be streamed live via ESPN+.  
All-Rookie Team
Cooper Cavanaugh, Davidson
Cider Canon, Davidson
David Mendez, Dayton
Aidan Dowd, Fordham
Robbie Lavey, George Washington                
Justin Masteralexis, Massachusetts       
Robbie O'Connor, Massachusetts
Reece Moroney, Rhode Island      
Evan Maloney, Rhode Island
Jackson Hinchliffe, Richmond
Tim Dickinson, Saint Joseph's
Chris McHugh, VCU    
        
All-Academic Team
Eli Putnam, Davidson 
Nick Wissman, Dayton
Gannon Brady, Fordham     
Brandon Siegenthaler, George Washington
Jack Beverly, Massachusetts
Austin Burgess, Massachusetts    
Phil Bernstein, Richmond    
Eric Genther, Rhode Island  
Jack Putney, St. Bonaventure       
Noah Czajkowski, St. Bonaventure
Tyler Fogarty, Saint Louis    
Cole Smith, Saint Louis        
Cade Dressler, VCU