Vanderbilt second baseman named Freshman All-American

Vanderbilt’s Anthony Gomez, who led all NCAA Division I freshmen in batting average this spring, was named a first-team Freshman All-American by Baseball America.

He is the first VU player in more than a decade to be so honored by the publication. The last was outfielder Aaron Fauselt in 1999.

Gomez led the Commodores with a .379 batting average and had a team-high 13 sacrifice bunts. He struck out just five times in 214 at-bats. In the field, he committed just five errors (none in the final 17 games) and had a .974 fielding percentage.

A reserve infielder at the start of the season, he eventually earned first-team All-SEC honors at second base in addition to SEC All-Freshman recognition.

“Anthony solidified himself as a very competitive player in the SEC and he maintained a level of consistency that lasted throughout the year,” coach Tim Corbin said.

Gomez previously was named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball and an All-South Region selection by the American Baseball Coaches Association.