Trio of Arizona baseball players named NCBWA All-Americans

Arizona has placed three players on the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association All-America teams for the first time in program history.

Freshman third baseman Jacob Berry was named a NCBWA First Team All-American, while senior relief pitcher Vince Vannelle made Second Team and freshman catcher Daniel Susac made Third Team.

This is the first All-America selection for Vannelle, a former junior college transfer originally from Cincinnati. The righty posted a 2.78 ERA over 32.1 innings pitched and recorded eight saves.

Arizona’s three NCBWA All-America selections led the Pac-12.

Berry and Susac also were named to D1Baseball’s All-America teams Monday, with Berry on the Second Team and Susac on the Third Team. That duo was previously named Co-Freshmen of the Year by Collegiate Baseball.

The two freshmen set the foundation for Arizona’s prolific offensive season.

Berry, a native of Queen Creek, Arizona, batted .352 this season with 17 home runs and 70 RBI. Susac, from Roseville, California, was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year after batting .335 with 12 homers and 65 RBI.

With former UA coach Jay Johnson now at LSU, it’s unclear whether Berry and Susac plan to stay at Arizona or explore their options. If they choose to enter the transfer, they’ll have to act soon.

College baseball players have until July 1 to put their name in the transfer portal.

Arizona Athletic Director Dave Heeke is under pressure to hire Johnson’s replacement quickly to give the new hire the best chance at retaining as many underclassmen as possible.

Losing either or both All-American freshmen would obviously be a tremendous blow.