After his first season with the University of South Florida baseball team, outfielder Ryan Lockwood has garnered five freshman All-American honors. After becoming the first freshman to lead the Big East in hitting, Lockwood was named the 2008 Louisville Slugger Freshman of the Year by Collegiate Baseball.

Lockwood is a first team honoree on the Rivals.com Freshman All-America Team, and is one of just six outfielders chosen for the two-team, 32-player list. Along with the Rivals.com award, Lockwood also earned Freshman All-American honors from Baseball America, Louisville Slugger, the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association and Ping! Baseball.

In conference games, Lockwood led all Big East players with a .523 OBP, was tied for the lead with a 1.000 fielding percentage and was fourth in hits with 44. In 23 league games, he had 14 multiple-hit games, including seven three-hit outings. He had at least one hit in each of his conference outings, and had no errors in center field. In his last five Big East games, he was 12-for-23 with a double, triple, three walks, three RBI, six runs scored and an outfield assist. Throughout the season, the native of Tampa earned three Big East Weekly Honor Roll awards.

Before his collegiate success, Lockwood shined at the 2005 Baseball Express Cape Cod High School Classic making the Defensive Play of the Game.

University of Miami freshman left-handed pitcher Chris Hernandez was named the 2008 Baseball America National Freshman of the Year.

Hernandez owned the best record by a freshman pitcher in Miami history going 11-0 with a 2.72 ERA. He struck out 117 in 112 2/3 innings while opponents hit just .223 against him. He was named the ACC Freshman of the Year, National Collegiate Baseball Writers’ Association inaugural National Freshman Pitcher of the Year and Collegiate Baseball National Freshman Pitcher of the Year. He also earned first team All-ACC honors as well as Louisville Slugger, NCBWA and Baseball America All-America honors.

Before his emergence as a dominant pitcher at the college level, Hernandez competed in two Team One events: the 2005 Team One South Florida Tryouts and the 2005 Team One South Showcase. He’s the seventh Team One alum to be named National Freshman of the Year by Baseball America:

1996-Pat Burrell, 3B, Miami (Philadelphia Phillies)
1997-Brian Roberts, SS, North Carolina (Baltimore Orioles)
1998-Xavier Nady, 2B, California (Pittsburgh Pirates)
2000-Kevin Howard, 3B/SS, Miami
2003-Ryan Braun, SS, Miami (Milwaukee Brewers)
2005-Joe Savery, LHP/1B, Rice
2008-Chris Hernandez, LHP, Miami

Here are a number of other Baseball Factory Alumni who joined Lockwood and Hernandez on the Baseball America 2008 Freshman All-American Team:

First Team
(Player, College, Position, Baseball Factory Event)

Brett Eibner, University of Arkansas, UTIL – (Baseball Factory All-American 06)

Second Team

Christian Colon, Cal State Fullerton, SS – (Team One National Underclass Game 05)
Brooks Raley, Texas A&M, UTIL – (Rookie Program 04 – Round Rock, TX)
Kyle Blair, University of San Diego, RHP – (Team One National Underclass Game 05)
Thain Simon, Santa Clara University, RHP – (Baseball Factory All-American 06)
Kevin Rhoderick, Oregon State University, RHP – (Cape Cod High School Classic 06