White named Freshman of the Year, Pack trio also earns honors
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GREENSBORO, N.C. - Following a sensational first season with the Wolfpack, NC State baseball’s Tommy White has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Freshman of the Year, as announced by the league office on Monday morning.
He becomes the fourth player from the program to earn the honor and is the first since 2018 to do so when Patrick Bailey was tabbed ACC Freshman of the Year.
He additionally was named to the All-ACC First Team and ACC All-Freshman Team, while LuJames Groover collected All-ACC Second Team honors and Devonte Brown and Chris Villaman were tabbed All-ACC Third Team.
This is the first career all-conference honor for Brown, Villaman and White, while for Groover this is his first as a member of the Pack as he earned All-CUSA honors last year at Charlotte.
Tommy White |FR | DH | ACC Freshman of the Year, All-ACC First Team, ACC All-Freshman Team
White started his collegiate career with five home runs on Opening Weekend and never looked back, as he broke the ACC freshman home run record on May 19 with his 23rd of the season. He’s just two away from the NC State single-season home run record and three from the NCAA freshman record.
He leads all freshmen nationally with 23 home runs, 68 runs batted in and a .735 slugging percentage and ranks top 12 in Division I baseball in all three categories. Additionally, he ranks second among all NCAA freshmen with 80 hits.
White, who was recently named a Dick Howser Trophy semifinalist, turned in 25 multi-hit games and 18 multi-RBI games, including five multi-homer outings in the regular season.
In ACC play, he led all freshmen with 10 home runs and finished second with 40 hits, 24 RBIs and a .602 slugging percentage.
LuJames Groover III | SO | 1B | All-ACC Second Team
Groover had a strong first season with the Wolfpack after transferring from Charlotte, leading the team with a .431 on-base percentage and finishing second with a .355 batting average, 78 hits and 60 runs scored. He managed to tally at least one hit in 44 games and reached base safely in 46 out of 53 games in the regular season.
His 78 hits rank seventh in the conference while his 60 runs scored rank 10th among the league.
He turned in 25 multi-hit games during the season, highlighted by a team-high nine three-hit outings, and is one of four players on the team to hit double-digit homers as he hit his 10th last week against UNCG on May 17.
Devonte Brown | SR | OF | All-ACC Third Team
Brown is on track to turn in the best season of his career at the plate, as he his slashing .294/.431/.545 and is the only player on the team to start all 53 games at the same position, as he earned the starting nod at center field all year. He leads the team with a .431 on-base percentage and 61 runs scored while his 13 homers rank second on the team and his 62 hits rank third.
Five of Brown’s home runs this season have been to lead off a game, while 12 of them have come in the leadoff position and seven have been when leading off an inning.
Defensively, he did not commit an error in ACC play and had just two on the season in the outfield.
Chris Villaman | SO | RP | All-ACC Third Team
Villaman has served as the Pack’s closer, transitioning from a starting role in previous years. He collected nine saves this year - the third-most by a pitcher in the ACC - and compiled a 3.52 earned-run average and three wins with 68 strikeouts in a team-leading 24 appearances.
He was recently named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association’s Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List, and from March 25 to April 15 (eight appearances) he picked up six saves and two wins while allowing just three earned runs to score in the timeframe.
In ACC play, he led the league with six saves and his 3.41 ERA was the sixth lowest in the conference.