SANTA CLARITA, Calif. – The College of the Canyons baseball team continues to collect post season accolades, with three members of the squad – sophomore second baseman Brian Hernandez, sophomore left fielder Tyreace House and freshman designated hitter Brian Charnock – named to the Southern California All-America team, as announced by the California Community College Baseball Coaches Association on Saturday.
An Alemany High School graduate, Hernandez, earns the All-America award after collecting first-team all-conference and Western State Conference Player of the Year accolades earlier this month. Hernandez broke team records in hits (84) and doubles (26) and also led the state in the respective categories. Hernandez hit for a stunning .454 average on the year and drove in 56 RBIs to lead the team to a 30-13 (23-5) record and its first conference championship since 2004. Hernandez also led the team in two-out RBIs with 17, and batted .477 with runners on base.
Two-time first-team all-conference leftfielder House earns the prestigious award for the first time. The Palmdale alum, who was known as the fastest member of the 2008 Western State Conference Champions, topped the team in runs scored (55), steal attempts (35) and stolen bases (31). The sophomore hit .348 this season and had a .428 on-base percentage.
Local Hart graduate Charnock had an outstanding season at the dh position for the Cougars. The first-team all-conference selection was second on the team in batting average (.426) behind Hernandez, and finished the year with the ninth best average in the state. Charnock, who also spent time in the outfield, led the team in triples (4) and was second in slugging percentage (.638) and on base percentage (.464). He is the second freshman since 2003 to earn the California community college baseball’s highest accolade. Relief pitcher Max Hibbs earned All-America honors for the Cougars in 2004.
The three Cougars become the fourth, fifth and sixth athletes under the direction of head coach Chris Cota to be donned All-American.
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