Record Book [ all-americans ]
Joe McNamee 1998 Joe McNamee was honored as an ABCA third team All-American in left field during the 1998 season. He led the Mountaineer hitting attack with a .429 average, 13 home runs, 66 RBIs and 27 doubles. Furthermore, the Bridgeport, W.Va., native tallied 61 runs and 152 total bases while putting together a .796 slugging percentage. He led a powerful batting lineup that hit .358 as a team, at the time the highest in school history. Revealing his intimidation at the plate, McNamee was intentionally walked five times, nearly half of WVU’s 11 intentional passes in 1998. He was a three-time letterman from 1996-98.
Justin Jenkins 2007 The Ridgeley, W.Va., native left his final season at WVU in style after being named a Collegiate Baseball third team All-American in 2007. Justin Jenkins was also named to the Pro-Line Athletic NCBWA third team, as well as the Louisville Slugger NCAA Division I All-America third team. His superb senior year was highlighted by a 38-game hitting streak that lasted from Feb. 17-April 28. Jenkins’ run was the longest ever by a BIG EAST player and ties for 10th place in NCAA history. Jenkins led the Mountaineers with a .372 batting average and produced 11 home runs and a team-high 21 doubles. After his superb 2007 season, he was signed by the Cleveland Indians. The steady left fielder is a fixture in the Mountaineer career record books, sitting among the school’s career leaders in batting average (.369), base hits (253), home runs (33), at-bats (686), RBIs (140), doubles (69), extra base hits (105) and runs scored (158).
Tyler Kuhn 2008 One of the great all-around baseball players at WVU, Tyler Kuhn finished off his senior campaign as a Pro Line Athletic/NCBWA and Rawlings/ABCA third team All-American. Known as one of the country’s most talented shortstops, Kuhn batted .424 with nine home runs, 56 RBIs and 17 doubles while leading the nation’s fifth-best offense to a 35-21 mark in 2008. The Louisville, Ky., native lettered from 2005-08 and was drafted by the Chicago White Sox. He is regarded as WVU’s “Iron Man” after playing in all 220 career games during his illustrious four-year career.
Vince Belnome 2009 Known as one of the greatest pure hitters in school history, Vince Belnome earned third team College Baseball Insider All-America honors after having his most prolific season in his final year. Belnome, who gave up his final year of eligibility after being drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 28th round, set the school record for RBIs with 84 in 2009. The Coatesville, Pa., native batted .418 with nine home runs, 20 doubles, 66 runs scored and 89 hits. The two-time all-BIG EAST performer finished his junior year among the nation’s best with a .519 on-base percentage and posted a team-best 24 multiple RBI games. He finished his three-year career among the school’s all-time leaders in batting average (.388), base hits (216) and RBIs (174). Belnome also owns one of the greatest single-game performance in Mountaineer history, going 6-for-6 with two home runs, nine RBIs and four runs scored in an 18-3 rout over Cincinnati on May 10.
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Jedd Gyorko 2008, 2009, 2010 Hailing from Morgantown, infielder Jedd Gyorko left West Virginia University as arguably the greatest baseball player in school history. Following his sophomore year in 2009, Gyorko became the first Mountaineer to garner All-America accolades in more than one season, being named a Louisville Slugger second team All-American as well as a third team Pro-Line Athletic/NCBWA All-American. He was also honored as a second team All-American by the NCBWA in 2008. In 2010, the fundamentally sound junior continued his burst into national consciousness. He became the first first team All-American since Chris Enochs in 1997 after being honored once again by the NCBWA, and was listed as a second team All-American by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and ABCA/Rawlings. Gyorko, who was selected by the San Diego Padres in the second round of the 2010 Major League Baseball first-year player draft, is WVU’s all-time leader in batting average (.404), doubles (73), extra base-hits (113) and tied for first place in home runs (35). He is also the single-season leader in home runs (19 in 2010 is tied with Mark Landers), doubles (28 in 2009 and 2010), extra-base hits (48 in 2010), walks (43 in 2010), total bases (177 in 2010) and assists (192 in 2010).
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