Michigan State First Baseman Jeff Holm Named Third-Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball

 

Jeff Holm Named Third-Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball

Holm, who earned Big Ten Player of the Year honors, is the first Spartan All-American since 2002.

 

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State senior first baseman Jeff Holm has been named to the Louisville Slugger All-America Third Team, Collegiate Baseball newspaper announced on Thursday. Holm, the 2011 Big Ten Player of the Year, led the conference in RBIs with 61 and ranked second in batting average (.376) and homers (9).

Holm becomes the first Spartan to earn All-America honors since outfielder Bob Malek was named a first-team All-American in 2002. Holm is only the second first baseman in program history to garner All-America accolades and the first since Jerry Sutton made the ABCA (American Baseball Coaches Association) third team in 1963.

This marks the 15th year that Louisville Slugger has sponsored Division I All-America Teams. The only other Spartans to earn Louisville Slugger All-America honors were Malek in 2002 (first team) and pitcher Mark Mulder in 1998 (third team).

Holm became just the second Spartan in history and the first since Malek in 2002 to be named the Big Ten's top player. The product of St. Charles, Ill., ranked among the top 10 Big Ten leaders in 10 statistical categories (batting, slugging, on-base percentage, runs, hits, RBIs, home runs, total bases, sacrifice flies, stolen bases).

A co-captain, Holm was clutch all season, as he led the team with 10 game-winning RBIs, including six in Big Ten play, while also ranking first on the team with 18 two-out RBIs. Holm led all Big Ten first baseman in batting, homers, RBIs, slugging (.588), on-base percentage (.441), runs (51), stolen bases (20), hits (85) and total bases (133) in 2011.

Holm was named Big Ten Player of the Week twice this season (March 14 and May 9) and earned National Player of the Week honors May 9 after batting .538 (7-for-13) with three homers and nine RBIs in the sweep over Purdue.

Defensively, Holm was arguably the top first baseman in the league, as he had the most putouts of any player in the conference (school-record 525) and made just two errors all season, good for a .996 fielding percentage.

Holm closes his career as one of the top Spartans in school history. In the MSU career record books, Holm ranks third in doubles (43) and runs scored (154), tied for third in RBIs (150), and fifth in hits (232).