Temple University Athletics
Sean Barksdale Named Big Five Player Of The Year; Five More Owls Honored
6.1.09 | Baseball
June 1, 2009
PHILADELPHIA - Temple senior outfielder Sean Barksdale has been named the Philadelphia Big 5 Player of the Year in voting conducted by the city's head coaches and sports information offices. Four more Owls -- junior Tony Jusino, senior Kyle Obal, senior Mark Ortega, and junior Ryan Thomas - joined Barksdale on the all-Big 5 team while sophomore Byron McKoy was named to the Big 5 all-academic team.
"There are many high-level players in the Philadelphia area and for Sean to be recognized as the player of the year is quite an honor," head coach Rob Valli said. "The fact that he was a unanimous selection shows the kind of respect he receives from the local schools."
Barksdale, who was also the Big 5 Co-Player of the Year in 2007, batted .371 with 15 home runs and 56 RBI this season. The co-captain, who earned first team all-Atlantic 10 honors this season, set career-highs in average, runs (53), hits (78), doubles (13), homers and slugging pct. (.638).
A Glenolden, PA native (Cardinal O'Hara), Barksdale broke Pete Dempsey's 31-year old career RBI record at Temple on May 8 vs. Saint Louis and finished his career with 162 runs batted in. He also finished third in career homers (27), fifth in hits (222), seventh in stolen bases (53), seventh in at-bats (642) and tenth in games started (156), despite playing only three seasons at TU.
Barksdale's 15 home runs this season are third in Temple's record book and his 56 RBI are fifth. His 78 hits are good for sixth on the single season list.
He led the city in total bases, runs, RBI, hits and home runs. His .485 batting average with runners in scoring position was among the nation's best and he improved that number to .526 in conference games.
Jusino batted .363 with three home runs and 39 RBI in his first season on North Broad Street after transferring from Grossmont College. He made a smooth adjustment to third base for the Owls and finished second in the city in hits (73) and doubles (19) and fifth in batting. The San Diego, CA product had a team-best 16-game hitting streak from April 16-May 9 and reached base in 43 of 48 starts.
Thomas assumed the responsibility of staff ace and was 4-3 with a 5.03 ERA. On three occasions, the junior also saved a game in the same weekend series in which he started a game. He struck out 34 batters in 59 innings, setting career-bests in wins, ERA, saves, innings pitched and strikeouts.
Obal earns his second straight all-Big 5 citation after batting .313 with a career-high 44 RBI. His 19 doubles were second in the city and the senior hit safely in 39 of 49 games. Defensively, he allowed just two passed balls behind the plate.
Ortega batted .318 with 19 doubles, five home runs and 39 RBI as the team's everyday shortstop. The 19 doubles were tied for second in the city. He set career-highs in batting, hits, doubles, RBI, slugging and on-base percentage.
McKoy, who owns a 3.30 grade point average as an information science and technology major, batted .278 with eight home runs and 28 RBI. He also stole 10 bases.
Villanova's Brian Streilein was named the Big 5 Pitcher of the Year and Penn's Derek Vigoa was the Rookie of the Year. Villanova's Kyle Carver earned Student-Athlete of the Year honors and Saint Joseph's Fritz Hamburg was named the Big 5 Coach of the Year. Villanova was named the Team of the Year.
Formed with the mission of increasing the exposure of college baseball in the area, Philadelphia Big 5 Baseball is comprised of the five Division I universities in Philadelphia that sponsor baseball. The Big 5 announces a Player and Pitcher of the Week every Monday during the season in addition to the annual all-star team.
See the attached PDF for the complete teams.
