Bryant Baseball Features Coach of the Year, Player of the Year, 11 All Conference Selections

Bryant baseball senior outfielder Gavin Noriega was named the Len Harlow Player of the Year and head coach Ryan Klosterman was named the America East Coach of the Year, it was announced Tuesday afternoon.

The honors are the first major awards for the Bulldogs in the America East and headline a list of 11 all-conference selections. Noriega becomes the seventh player in DI program history to earn player of the year honors, while Klosterman earns the coach of the year honor for the second time in his career. Bryant’s 11 all-league honors match the 2016 team for the most in DI program history and are the most by an America East school since Stony Brook had 12 in 2012.

Noriega also appears on the first team along with pitchers Austin Wainer and Luke Delongchamp, second baseman Zac Zyons and shortstop Chris Einemann. Pitcher Tyler Horvat, catcher Jackson Phinney, first baseman Carmine Petosa, outfielder Matt Smith and DH Brandyn Durand were named to the second team. Gavin Greger earned a spot on the all-rookie team.

Noriega put up MVP-type numbers for the Black and Gold this spring, finishing the regular season ranked fifth in average (.332), second in slugging (.690), tied for first in OBP (.472), second in OPS (1.162), first in runs scored (53), tied for first in RBI (55), second in home runs (17), second in walks (39) and second in HBP (15). He started the season with a bang, homering four times in the first three games of the season and seven times in the first nine on his way to setting the Bryant single-season home run record. In league play, Noriega tied for the lead with eight home runs. Noriega’s 55 RBI are the sixth-most in a single season in DI program history, while his 53 runs scored are tied for eighth. He joins Kevin Brown (2013), Robby Rinn (2016), Mickey Gasper (2017), Ryan Ward (2018), Liam McGill (2021) and Matt Woods (2022) as Bulldogs to win the award.

Klosterman guided the Bulldogs to their first America East Regular Season title, and the first regular season title for any Bryant program in the America East. Bryant has won 33 games, its 11th 30-win season in 15 full seasons of Division I play. The Bulldogs got off to a 1-7 start but have gone 32-12 since. Along the way, Klosterman won his 100th game with the Bulldogs and Bryant won its 500th game as DI program. Bryant enters the postseason ranked first in the league in nearly every offensive category and second in both ERA and strikeouts. Klosterman was named the 2021 NEC Coach of the Year.

Zyons picks up first-team honors after becoming the fifth Bulldog, and fourth from Rhode Island, to win a batting title. The South Kingstown, R.I., native led the league with a .373 average overall and also hit a league-best .417 in conference play. In addition to his average, Zyons provided pop to the leadoff spot, finishing the season ranked fourth in slugging (.607), tied for first in OBP (.472), third in OPS (1.079), fifth in runs scored (45) and first in HBP (17). Zyons posted 18 multi-hit games on the year and enters the postseason with a 32-game on-base streak.

Einemann grabs all-conference honors at short after hitting .315 with eight doubles, 29 RBI and 32 runs scored. As a defender, Einemann solidified the Bryant infield after his move to short, posting a .974 fielding percentage in 36 games at short. Einemann batted primarily ninth in the lineup and has been able to produce runs in many ways, producing four sac flies and eight sac bunts.

Wainer lands on the America East First Team following a successful shift from Bryant’s bullpen to the front end of the rotation. The Johns Creek, Ga., native finished the regular season 6-2 with a 4.04 ERA in 71.1 innings. Wainer was lights out in America East play, going 5-1 with a 3.35 ERA in eight starts. He threw at least 6.0 innings in seven of the eight starts and surrendered three runs or less in six of the eight. Wainer best outing of the year came in his final home start vs UMass Lowell in which he struck out nine over 7.0 innings of one-run ball.

The addition of Delongchamp in the offseason proved vital for the Black and Gold as the righty pitched his way to first team honors. A native of Holden, Mass., Delongchamp finished the year ranked second in wins, second in ERA (2.83) and fourth in opp. average (.246). In league play, Delongchamp posted a 2.16 ERA, allowing one earned run or less in six of his eight starts. He opened league play allowing one run over 15.0 innings and didn’t issue a walk while striking out 18. Delongchamp had one of his best outings of the year at NJIT, allowing two runs on just one hit while striking out a career-high nine in 6.0 innings.

Phinney used a strong April to land on the America East Second Team. The Marshfield, Mass., native enters the postseason hitting .255 with 12 doubles, five home runs and 27 RBI. Defensively, he’s throw out 24 percent of baserunners this season. Phinney’s big stretch came Apr. 14-Apr. 26 in which he went 10-for-22 with six doubles and five RBI.

Petosa earns all-conference recognition for the second time in his career (2nd Team All-NEC in 2022) after putting showcasing plate discipline, power and defense for the Bulldogs this spring. The Jackson, N.J., native enters the conference tournament having reached safely in all 52 games this season and a program-record 55 in a row dating back to last year. Petosa leads the league with 42 walks (T3rd DI program history) and is third in OBP at .468. After showcasing his ability to reach base via walks and HBPs in the first 14 games of the year (19BB, 5HBP), Petosa showcased his power over the final 38, hitting .340 with 15 doubles, 10 home runs and 45 RBI. Petosa ranks fourth in OPS (1.049), second in runs scored (49) and third in RBI (53) in the America East.

Smith lands on the second team after a late-season surge. The Philadelphia, Pa., native chose to return for a sixth season but struggled out of the gate going 7-for-35 before missing seven games. Smith returned in a big way, hitting a tie-breaking two-run home run as the Bulldogs completed a three-game sweep of UMBC. He finished the year 29-of-78 (.372) with 10 extra-base hits and 22 RBI over his last 22 games. Smith was at his best in AE play, finishing second to Zyons with a .387 batting average.

Durand picks up second team honors after hitting .250 with 11 doubles, 11 home runs, 31 RBI, 38 runs scored and 12 stolen bases. The Somerset, Mass., native tied for second on the team in home runs, homering in all three games of a weekend series at both Pitt and Maine. Durand hit a crucial three-run home run in the top of the eighth inning at Merrimack and clubbed a walk-off double against Stonehill.

Horvat earns second team honors despite missing his final three league starts with an arm injury. Prior to the injury, Horvat proved to be the league’s premier Sunday starter. Depsite missing time, Horvat still ranks first in league play with a 1.56 ERA, sixth in batting average and first in fewest walks allowed. In his first four league starts, Horvat went 9.0, 7.0, 7.0 and 9.0, allowing two runs or fewer in all four. Horvat delivered a complete-game gem to complete a sweep of Binghamton, striking out eight and allowing just two runs on seven hits. In addition, Horvat earned a spot on the All-Academic team. The 2023 Division III Baseball National Student-Athlete of the Year posted a 4.0 GPA in Bryant’s MBA program.

Greger is the only Bulldog to earn a spot on the all-rookie team. The Bristol, Conn., native joined the Bulldogs from UConn and took over as the team’s starting center fielder. Greger is hitting .269 with 12 doubles, 24 RBI, 36 runs scored and 15 stolen bases. He opened his career with back-to-back three-hit games, including a three-hit, three-RBI performance in his collegiate debut at UCF. Greger has also enjoyed a late surge, entering the tournament hitting .328 (21-64) with seven doubles, 12 runs scored and four stolen bases over his last 16.

2024 America East Awards

Len Harlow Player of the Year: Gavin Noriega, Bryant
Pitcher of the Year: Luke Johnson, UMBC
Rookie of the Year: Cade Ladehoff, NJIT
Coach of the Year: Ryan Klosterman, Bryant

First Team

SP: Luke Delongchamp, Bryant
SP: Austin Wainer, Bryant
SP: Gabe Driscoll, Binghamton
SP: Luke Johnson, UMBC
RP: Sam Downs, UMBC
C: Ryan Proto, UMass Lowell
1B: Jeremiah Jenkins, Maine
2B: Zac Zyons, Bryant
3B: Devan Bade, Binghamton
SS: Chris Einemann, Bryant
OF: Mike Gunning, Binghamton
OF: Gavin Noriega, Bryant
OF: Carlos Martinez, UMass Lowell
DH: Evin Sullivan, Binghamton
UTL: Cade Ladehoff, NJIT

Second Team

SP: Tyler Horvat, Bryant
SP: Gianni Gambardella, Maine
SP: Aidan Kidd, NJIT
SP: Jayden Shertel, UMBC
RP: Zach Fortuna, UMass Lowell
C: Jackson Phinney, Bryant
1B: Carmine Petosa, Bryant
2B: Nick Roselli, Binghamton
3B: Will Binder, UAlbany
SS: Fritz Genther, UMass Lowell
OF: Alex Luccini, UMass Lowell
OF: Kevin Putsky, NJIT
OF: Matt Smith, Bryant
DH: Brandyn Durand, Bryant
UTL: Jake Marquez, Maine

All-Rookie

C: Cole Campbell
IF/DH: Kyle Eddington, UMBC
OF: Gavin Greger, Bryant
RHP: Jason Krieger, Maine
UTL: Cade Ladehoff, NJIT
RHP: Jackson Mitchell, Binghamton
RHP: Alfred Mucciarone, UMass Lowell
RHP: Cam Sime, UMass Lowell
OF: AJ Soldra, NJIT
C: Danny Wyatt, UMBC
All Academic

Devan Bade, Binghamton – Electrical Engineering
Albert Choi, NJIT – Mechanical Engineering
Sam Downs, UMBC – Business Administration
Gabe Driscoll, Binghamton – Psychology
Mike Gunning, Binghamton – Human Development
Tyler Horvat, Bryant – MBA
Aidan Kidd, NJIT – Business
Luke Longo, NJIT – MBA
Derek Paris, UMBC – Computer Science
Tommy Reifler, Binghamton – MBA