Standard of Excellence: The 2015 FAU Baseball Season Revisited

June 8, 2015

BOCA RATON, Fla. - National attention, broken records and another appearance in the NCAA Regionals were just a few highlights of the Florida Atlantic University baseball team's 2015 campaign.

The Owls finished the year with a record of 42-19, the best mark in more than a decade, and climbed to as high as No. 12 in the national polls.

"I am so proud of the job the players and coaches did this past year," FAU skipper John McCormack said. "They were challenged with an exceptional schedule and a rose to the occasion at every turn."

Led by familiar faces such as Brendon Sanger, Ricky Santiago and Drew Jackson, FAU marched through non-conference play with a nine-game winning streak. After the first weekend of Conference USA play, the Owls boasted an impressive record of 20-3 with two wins over top-10 teams, forcing voters to take notice of McCormack's squad.

Sanger and Santiago paved the way for All-American seasons with Sanger leading the Owls in average for the third consecutive season and Santiago launching home runs effortlessly.

On the hill, a rotation formed of Kyle Miller, Jackson and Brandon Rhodes led the Owls to the fourth-best season ERA in school history at 3.52. FAU pitching coach Jason Jackson's staff dealt four shutouts and set an FAU record with the fewest walks allowed per nine innings, giving up just 169 free bases over the 61 games.

On April 17, FAU became the only the third team in the nation to reach the 30-win plateau, vaulting the Owls to No. 14 in the polls. Two more series victories over Old Dominion and UAB gave FAU its highest ranking in years, at No. 12.

As the regular season came to a close, the Owls found themselves in title contention at Western Kentucky in mid-May, thanks in part to a 19-game hitting streak by sophomore CJ Chatham, who led C-USA in batting for much of league play. A pair of wins over the Hilltoppers bumped FAU up two spots in the standings to earn the No. 2 seed in the team's first ever Conference USA Tournament.

Victories over ODU and host Southern Miss in the tournament allowed the Owls to reach the 40-win mark for the 13th time in program history, allowing for a comfortable NCAA Selection Show viewing.

Several names flashed across the screen before FAU appeared as the No. 2 seed in the Gainesville Regional.

An opening 5-3 loss to USF sent the Owls into the loser's bracket before the offense came alive. Back-to-back eight-run games featuring four home runs against Florida A&M and USF saw the Owls climb from the depths to face the No. 4 national seed Florida Gators in the title game.

The FAU pitching staff of Sean Labsan, Reily Monkman, Devon Carr and Seth McGarry held the high-powered Gator offense to just one earned run, but the season came to a close with a 2-1 loss.

FAU's Santiago and Sanger earned All-American honors while the All-Conference USA teams featured six Owls, including Sanger as the Player of the Year.

"This season again sets the tone for FAU Baseball going forward," McCormack said. "We are looking forward to see what the future brings."

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