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Somerset, NJ - Bryant nearly completed a clean sweep of the Northeast Conference’s major individual baseball awards.

The Bulldogs, who won 21 of 25 conference games this spring, captured three of the four major accolades headlined by NEC Player of the Year Liam McGill. The 2021 season marks the fifth time since 2013 that a Bryant Bulldog has captured the league’s top honor.

Once again, Bryant produced the conference’s top-ranked pitcher with Tyler Mattison keeping the NEC Pitcher of the Year award in Smithfield for the seventh consecutive season.

The NEC Coach of the Year, which is heading to Smithfield for the seventh time since 2010, belongs to a first-time recipient in Bryant’s Ryan Klosterman.  

Central Connecticut freshman relief pitcher Jake Neuman denied Bryant a clean sweep by capturing the NEC Rookie of the Year award.

Arriving at Bryant as a graduate transfer from Ivy League member Columbia, McGill quickly established himself as an impactful player at the plate. Hitting for both average and power, the veteran first baseman paced the Northeast Conference in batting average (.467), on-base percentage (.542), slugging percentage (.721), home runs (8) and RBI (44). He concluded the regular season as the Division I national leader in both batting average and OBP. McGill carries a 33-game on-base streak into the 2021 NEC Tournament. He has recorded at least one hit in each of his last nine outings.

Against NEC opponents, McGill hit a robust .465 with 30 RBI and 27 runs scored over a 20-game sample. Overall, he logged 16 multi-hit performances in 33 appearances and also recorded three multi-homer games.

After earning an all-NEC first team selection as a sophomore in 2019, Mattison made the leap up to the conference’s No. 1 spot in 2021. The 6-foot-4 starter proceeded to lead the Northeast Conference in earned-run average (2.33), wins (9) and strikeouts (86). Solidifying the front end of Bryant’s weekend rotation, the righty logged a team-high 73.1 innings while pitching to an 0.86 WHIP. Striking out more than seven times as many batters as he walked, Mattison issued only 12 free passes over the course of his 12 starts.

Mattison averaged nearly 7.0 innings per start in league play, completing at least 6.0 frames in all but one conference start. Mattison set Bryant's single-game strikeout record by fanning 15 batters in a win over FDU.

Taking the reins in 2020 after five-time NEC Coach of the Year Steve Owens departed for the Big Ten Conference, Klosterman has continued the winning ways in Smithfield. Navigating through a pandemic, Bryant captured the NEC regular season crown for the ninth consecutive year this spring. Sporting an .840 win percentage in conference play, the Bulldogs out-scored their NEC opponents by a 227-84 margin over 25 games. 2.43 NEC ERA

Neuman’s work out of the bullpen made the Constitution State product Central Connecticut’s first NEC Rookie of the Year recipient since 2002 when Phil Rothkugel claimed the honor. The left-handed reliever pitched to a 1.88 ERA over 14 appearances and picked up three victories along the way. Neuman logged 12 scoreless outings while averaging 6.75 strikeouts per 9.0 innings. He surrendered only 17 hits in 24.0 frames. His ERA shrunk 1.35 when facing NEC teams. Neuman made multiple scoreless appearances against Sacred Heart, Mount St. Mary’s, Merrimack and Wagner.


ALL-NEC-toids

• Each of Bryant’s three weekend starting pitchers earned spot on the All-NEC Teams led by Pitcher of the Year Tyler Mattison on the First Team. Righty Tyler Schoff and lefty Vito Morgese occupied two of three available spots on the Second Team.

 

• Mattison was the lone 2021 first team selection to have also garnered first team honors in 2019.

 

• CCSU outfielder Dave Matthews returned to the All-NEC Second Team after earning the honor two years ago.

 

• Central Connecticut sports a first team all-NEC battery with junior catcher Sam Loda and senior southpaw starter Andrew Braun. The former batted .274 with a .396 OBP over 36 games and the latter went 8-1 on the bump with a 3.04 ERA.

 

• LIU righty Rob Griswold was tabbed as the NEC’s top reliever after going 4-0 with five saves and pitching to an 0.68 ERA in 16 appearances.

 

• Third baseman Joey Porricelli became Merrimack's first-ever all-NEC honoree, landing on the Second Team after leading the Warriors with a .308 batting average over 40 games. He had 18 extra-base hits, including seven home runs.