Baseball announces 2024 team awards

NEW YORK — Columbia baseball head coach Brett Boretti announced the 2024 team awards which include Most Valuable Player, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Mr. Hustle Award, Joseph Allen Award and Core Values ​​Award.

Columbia went 26-18 (17-4) this year and won its 16th Ivy League title. The Lions have now won seven Ivy League titles under Boretti, including six since 2012. The 17 conference wins in 2024 tied a program record.

Lou Gehrig co-Most Valuable Players: Griffon Palfrey (INF/RHP) and Jack Cooper (1B)

Palfrey, a Vancouver, British Columbia native and team captain, had a team-high .380 batting average, also good for third in the Ivy League. On April 27, Palfrey hit Columbia’s 73rd home run of the year and set a new single-season program record that had already been broken last season. Palfrey’s 49 RBIs were third in the conference. He finished the season on a 16-game hitting streak and led the team with 13 multi-RBI games.

Palfrey earned first and second team honors as an infielder and utility player, respectively. He made 13 appearances on the mound and pitched to a 2.25 ERA.

Cooper’s 16 homers this year ranked second in the conference and were the most on the team. Cooper’s 59 RBIs in 2024 left him three points short of tying the program’s single-season record and five short of tying the Ivy League single-season mark. The Edwardsville, Illinois native has six games with five or more RBIs this season. Cooper earned honorable mention All-Ivy League honors.

Cooper was the first Lion to be named NCAA National Player of the Week (March 5), received D1 Baseball Player of the Week, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Player of the Week and was named to Baseball America’s NCAA Week 3. List of highlights after a historic series against Marist in early March in which he was 9-for-12 (.750 BA) with four home runs and 15 RBIs.

Cy Young: Derek Yoo (RHP)

Yoo had the fourth-most innings pitched in the Ivy League this year among conference pitchers (43.1). After starting just one career game before the season, the right-hander made seven big league starts and pitched seven innings in four of them. The Los Angeles, California native has allowed one earned run or less in five appearances this season. Yoo was named All-Ivy League honorable mention.

Rookie of the Year: Eric Jeon (3B)

Jeon slashed .320/.391/.523 in 42 games with 49 hits (19 for extra bases). He had 92 assists and made 12 double plays in the field. The Fullerton, California native has recorded two four-hit games and three four-RBI performances this season. He was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week twice (April 8 and April 29) and earned All-Ivy League Second Team honors.

Price Mr. Hustle: Griffin Palfrey (INF/RHP)

The Mr. Hustle Award recognizes a player who consistently demonstrates the greatest dynamism on the field during practices and matches.

Palfrey also received the Mr. Hustle Award last season.

Joseph Allen Prize: Joe Leaves (RHP)

The Joseph Allen Award is presented annually to a team member who has made the greatest contribution in terms of inspirational leadership, sportsmanship, university loyalty and service as a player.

Sheets was a major contributor to Columbia having the second-lowest ERA in the conference’s Ivy League. The opponent’s league batting average of .207 ranks fourth. Sheets has given up just one home run to Ivy League hitters, which is tied for the best mark in the conference.

Sheets posted three straight wins over Penn, Dartmouth and Yale earlier this year, during which the Wilmington, Delaware, native went more than five innings and allowed one earned run or less in each start. The junior captain earned first-team All-Ivy League honors and is a member of Lou Gehrig’s First Community Impact Team.

Core Values ​​Award: Cole Hage (DH)

The Core Values ​​Award is given to the player who upholds Columbia Baseball’s core values ​​(family, character, passion, pride and presence) more than any other player.

Hage was named to the All-Ivy League first team for the third consecutive season in 2024. The senior captain ranked in the top five among Ivy League hitters in slugging percentage, hitting percentage on-base, OPS, runs scored, home runs and hits. by locations. His double in the second inning of the series finale against Princeton in May also set a new program single-season record, giving the Lions 119 on the year.

Hage led the team in walks (27) and was second on the team in home runs (13). The Fargo, North Dakota native had a team-high 35 game streak earlier this year. Hage is also Columbia’s Academic All-Ivy recipient.

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