June 6, 2007
ATLANTA – One day after being named a finalist for the prestigious Coleman Company-Johnny Bench Award, which honors the top collegiate catcher in the country, Yellow Jacket junior Matt Wieters has been named a first-team All-America by Rivals.com.
Wieters becomes just the third player in Georgia Tech baseball history to earn first-team All-America honors on two occasions, joining fellow switch-hitting catcher Jason Varitek, currently of the Boston Red Sox, and former Yellow Jacket shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, now a first baseman with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Varitek is the only Yellow Jacket to earn All-America honors on three occasions.
Wieters, a native of Goose Creek, SC, finished his junior season leading the Yellow Jackets in home runs (10), RBI (59), total bases (129) and slugging percentage (.592) and led all ACC catchers in slugging percentage, on base percentage, HR/gm (0.18), BB/gm (0.90), and TB/gm (2.26). He finished 2007 ranked tied for sixth in the Tech career record books with 54 doubles, seventh with 198 RBI and 16 saves, 13th in average (.359) and total bases (418), tied for 16th with 35 home runs and 18th with 253 hits in his three years on the Flats.
The Yellow Jacket catcher was a first-team All-American by Baseball America in 2006 and has also been tabbed to the Collegiate Baseball All-America third team in 2007.
