Leef Named NAIA Baseball First Team All-American; Gutierrez and Sears Earn Honorable Mention Honors

Baseball | Tue, Jun. 8, 2021 at 12:30 PM

NAIA Baseball All-Americans

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Cumberlands’ (Ky.) Bryan Leef was named a 2021 NAIA Baseball First Team All-American, the national office announced Tuesday.

Cumberlands’ Thomas Gutierrez and Freed-Hardeman’s (Tenn.) Josh Sears earned honorable mention honors.

The baseball All-America teams are selected by the NAIA-Baseball Coaches’ Association All-America Committee.

Leef the Mid-South Conference Player of the Year led the Patriots in batting average (.423), home runs (29) and RBIs with 81. His 29 home runs ranked first in the NAIA this season while he had a slugging percentage of .974 which ranked second. Leef’s 81 runs batted in led the MSC and ranked eighth nationally.

In 13 starts this season, Gutierrez posted a 10-0 record on the mound while recording an ERA of 2.18 in 66 innings of work. The MSC Pitcher of the Year pitched three complete games while recording one shutout. Gutierrez walked just 18 batters on the year and recorded 74 strike outs. His 2.18 ERA ranked second in the MSC and ranked 17th in the NAIA.

Sears led the Lions with a .374 batting average, 21 home runs and 53 RBIs. He recorded 65 hits in 174 at-bats and posted a slugging percentage of .787. His 21 home runs ranked second in the MSC and 11th in the NAIA. Sears ranked third in the conference in slugging percentage, sixth in batting average and in RBIs.

The first and second teams are also recognized as ABCA/Rawlings All-Americans by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings Sporting Goods. The ABCA began recognizing All-Americans in 1949 and named the first ABCA NAIA All-America team in 1969.