Baseball | 6/7/2021 11:00:00 AM
St. John Fisher junior catcher Adam Zebrowski and graduate student shortstop Justin Graham were named to both the 2021 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and D3baseball.com All-America teams. Zebrowski, who was a first team All-American from both organizations, was also named the 2021 D3baseball.com Player of the Year.
The ABCA All-America team was first recognized in 1949 and now includes nine divisions: NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA Divisions I, II and III, Pacific Association Division, and high school. ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove teams were first recognized in 2007. The D3baseball.com selections Players were nominated for these awards by the Sports Information Directors at the various schools.
After recording action in just nine games over his first two years in a Fisher uniform, the junior enjoyed arguably the greatest offensive season ever by a Cardinals hitter and Empire 8 student-athlete. The Albany native started all 38 games that Fisher played this year and accrued a hit in all but one game. At the conclusion of the season, his incredible numbers put him amongst the nation's statistical leaders in a handful of offensive categories including 20 home runs (first), 70 runs batted in (first), .993 slugging percentage (first), .500 batting average (second) and .594 on base percentage (fourth). Just to put it into perspective of how hard it was to keep Zebrowski off the base path this year, he put the ball into orbit seven more times than he struck out (20 homers to 13 Ks).
On defense, the catcher grabbed a team-high 225 put outs while assisting on 23 plays, including catching five runners stealing and owned a .992 fielding percentage.
On top of being named to both organizations' All-New York Region First Teams, Zebrowski was named the Empire 8's Player of the Year and First-Team All-Conference and was named National Player of the Week twice in the 2021 campaign.
Graham, who earned ABCA/Rawlings Third Team and D3baseball.com Honorable Mention All-American honors, finished his storied career by setting St. John Fisher records of 267 hits and 201 runs over his storied career. He was a 2021 All-Empire 8 first team selection and garnered All-New York Region first team accolades from both groups. This is now the third time in his career that the shortstop has been recognized on the regional level for his play on both sides of the ball. Graham also garnered his fourth straight All-Empire 8 first team plaudit.
Graham ranked second on the team in batting average at .417, OPS at 1.142, hits with 68, runs scored with 62, and slugging percentage at .699. He flashed his speed on offense as he grabbed 100% of his stolen base attempts and corralled 25 extra-base hits, totaling 109 bases along the way. On defense, the Orlando native fielded a career-high percentage of .964, while assisting on a team-high 84 plays, including 18 double plays.
St. John Fisher won the 2021 Empire 8 Championship and finished their year at 31-7 behind its offensive powerhouse of a lineup which combined for a nation-leading batting average of .365, a .478 on base percentage and slugging at a percentage of .591 on 501 total hits. On average, the Cardinals more than doubled the scoring of their opponents, as they finished the year at the top of the national leaderboard with 462 runs scored.
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The members of the Empire 8 Conference are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and the league is regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership has distinguished itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the E8. For more on the Empire 8 visit
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