MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – Florida State shortstop Taylor Walls was selected as a Third Team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association on Wednesday.
Walls was one of only two players, along with John Sansone, to start all 63 contests for Florida State this season. A vital part of helping FSU win 40 games for the 39th straight season, he ranked in the top five of 12 major categories for the Seminoles including runs (72-1st), walks (59-1st), hits (88-2nd), at-bats (248-2nd), doubles (20-2nd), on-base percentage (.479-2nd), stolen bases (14-2nd), batting average (.355-3rd), total bases (128-3rd), slugging percentage (.516-4th), RBI (46-4th) and home runs (6-4th).
The Cordele, Ga., native, who served as FSU’s leadoff hitter for a bulk of the 2016 season, made significant improvements in his offensive numbers from his freshman season. Among the most noteworthy increases for 2016 were batting average (+.135), hits (+38), runs (+29), RBI (+24) and home runs (+5).
Walls, a key cog in the Seminoles reaching the 2016 Super Regionals, made his impact felt in 2016 with 25 multi-hit games, including a career-best 4-for-4 outing against Pittsburgh (March 19). He also recorded multiple RBI in 12 games, establishing a new career-high (four) on two occasions against Notre Dame (April 24) and Florida Gulf Coast (May 11).
Seminole fans can always stay up-to-date with the Florida State Baseball team by following the official twitter page of the Seminoles (@FSUBaseball).
NCBWA All-American Selections
<First Team>
Pos. / Name, School
C / Zack Collins, Miami
C / Chris Okey, Clemson
1B / Peter Alonso, Florida
2B / Brian Mims, UNC Wilmington
3B / Will Craig, Wake Forest
SS / Sheldon Neuse, Oklahoma
OF / Seth Beer, Clemson
OF / Kyle Lewis, Mercer
OF / Corey Ray, Louisville
OF / Connor Owings, Coastal Carolina
DH / G.K. Young, Coastal Carolina
UT / Brendan McKay, Louisville
SP / Eric Lauer, Kent State
SP / Logan Shore, Florida
SP / Kade McClure, Louisville
SP / Drew Harrington, Louisville
SP / Connor Jones, Virginia
RP / Troy Rallings, Washington
RP / Sam Donko, VCU
RP / Shaun Anderson, Florida
RP / Zack Burdi, Louisville
RP / Bryan Garcia, Miami
<Second Team>
Pos. / Name, School
C / Nick Feight, UNC Wilmington
1B / Jameson Fisher, r-Jr., Southeastern La.
2B / Nick Solak, Louisville
3B / Boomer White, Texas A&M
SS / CJ Chatham, Florida Atlantic
SS / Charles Leblanc, Pitt
OF / Jake Mangum, Mississippi State
OF / Ryan Scott, Little Rock
OF / Heath Quinn, Samford
DH / Austin Edens, Samford
UT / Luken Baker, TCU
SP / Joseph Camacho, Alabama State
SP / Dakota Hudson, Mississippi State
SP / AJ Puckett, Pepperdine
SP / Ryan Foster, UNC Wilmington
SP / Joey Lucchesi, Southeast Missouri
SP / Braden Webb, South Carolina
RP / Stephen Nogosek, Oregon
RP / Dylan Moore, Louisiana-Lafayette
RP / Mark Ecker, Texas A&M
RP / Matthew Gorst, Georgia Tech
RP / Pat Krall, Clemson
<Third Team>
Pos. / Name, School
C / Matt Thasis, Virginia
1B / Darrick Hall, Dallas Baptist
1B / Hunter Melton, Texas A&M
2B / Clayton Daniel, Jacksonville State
3B / Jake Burger, Missouri State
3B / Zach Remillard, Coastal Carolina
SS / Taylor Walls, Florida State
OF / Spencer Johnson, Missouri State
OF / Bryan Reynolds, Vanderbilt
OF / Anfernee Grier, Auburn
OF / Bryson Bowman, Western Carolina
OF / Jeren Kendall, Vanderbilt
DH / JJ Schwarz, Florida
UT / Adam Haseley, Virginia
SP / Alex Faedo, Florida
SP / Brigham Hill, Texas A&M
SP / Clarke Schmidt, South Carolina
SP / Kevin Hill, South Alabama
SP / Mike Rucker, BYU
SP / Jon Duplantier, Rice
SP / Luke Gillingham, Navy
RP / Thomas Burrows, Alabama
RP / Mike Morrison, Coastal Carolina
RP / Dakota Mekkes, Michigan State
RP / Iannick Remillard, Canisius
