Information provided by the Arizona media relations department:
Arizona Baseball’s Baby Bombers, true freshmen Jacob Berry and Daniel Susac, kicked off the awards season strongly earning All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball on Thursday morning.
Susac, a designated hitter, earned first team recognition while Susac, a catcher, was tabbed to the second team. It is the first All-America recognitions in both of their careers.
Thursday’s announcement marks the first time a Wildcat has earned first team honors from Collegiate Baseball since Alex Mejia in 2012 and the third time under the direction of head coach Jay Johnson that Arizona has landed multiple players on the publication’s All-America teams.
Berry, a native of Queen Creek, led the Wildcats with a .371 batting average and 64 RBIs in the regular season, the latter of which also paced the Pac-12 and ranked fifth in the nation. He has already set Arizona freshman records with 36 extra-base hits and 149 total bases and is just five home runs shy of breaking the program’s all-time freshman high of 20, set by Wildcat home run king Shelley Duncan in 1999.
With 55 regular season games under his belt, Berry picked up 24 multi-hit games and logged a team-best 19 multi-RBI performances. He only went hitless 12 times but drew walks in five of those contests, leading to his impressive .463 on-base percentage. Berry currently leads the Pac-12 in triples, RBI, total bases, and extra-base hits while ranking among the top five players on the circuit in runs, hits, doubles, home runs, batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage.
Susac, hailing from Roseville, Calif., served as the Wildcats everyday starting catcher in 2021 and finished the regular season hitting .344 with 45 runs, 20 doubles, one triple, 12 home runs, 59 RBIs, a .618 slugging percentage, and a .396 on-base percentage. Behind the plate, the freshman managed nearly 90 percent of Arizona’s innings, posted a nearly flawless .996 fielding percentage, and threw out 8-of-24 attempted base stealers.
When the results mattered the most, in the Wildcats 30 Pac-12 contests, Susac delivered. The true freshman set Arizona freshman conference records with 45 hits, 12 doubles, 21 extra-base hits, 83 total bases, and a .669 slugging percentage. Along with teammate and fellow All-American Berry, Susac swatted eight home runs in conference play, tied for the program record by a freshman.
Berry, Susac, and the Wildcats are set to host and compete in the Tucson NCAA Regional this weekend at Hi Corbett Field starting Friday night at 7 against Grand Canyon.
Opponents, ticketing info, schedule, and more can be found at Arizona’s Tucson Baseball Regional Central page.
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