Eastern Michigan Athletics
Josh Kross Tabbed Freshman All-American By CBN
6/7/2023 11:43:00 AM | Baseball
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper listed Kross as one of the best first basemen in the nation
Full List of 2023 Honorees
TUCSON, Ariz. (EMUEagles.com) - Eastern Michigan University baseball student-athlete Josh Kross (Brunswick, Ohio-Brunswick-Toledo) has been tabbed a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, the publication announced today, June 7.
With the honor, Kross becomes just the second player in program history to earn Freshman All-America status, and the first since Brian Bixler earned the honor from Louisville Slugger in 2002. Kross is the 11th player in EMU program history to earn an All-America honor. Prior to Kross, Matt Kirk was the most recent honoree, earning third team status from CBN following the 2022 campaign.
Kross is one of 62 awardwinners in this year's class, and is one of just two players from the Mid-American Conference to be tabbed with the honor. He is joined by Bowling Green State University's DJ Newman, who picked up the nod in the 'multiple positions' category.
Kross, who was named the MAC Freshman of the Year and a First Team All-MAC selection in late May, had a historic season in his first year for the Green and White. He ranked fifth in the MAC with a .376 batting average, finishing first in RBIs (70), third in hits (86), fourth in doubles (18), and fifth in home runs (15). His 70 runs knocked ranks 16th in the nation while his 149 total bases is 33rd-best in the NCAA Division I ranks. Not a prototypal slugger, Kross was the second hardest player in the MAC to strikeout, fanning once every 8.8 at-bats.
The Brunswick, Ohio, native's 70 RBIs tied for second-most in a single season at EMU. He finished tied with Chris Hoiles (1986) and Ryan Goleski (2002), one shy of the record held by Derrick Peterson (71 - 2004). All told, Kross had 30 multiple-hit games to go along with a pair of four hit performances. He also had 22 multi-RBI games over the course of the year, including driving in five against Western Michigan, March 18.
EMU's offense was electric in 2023, finishing the regular season second in the Mid-American Conference in average (.297), hits (556), doubles (125), runs (409), and scoring per game (7.7). The team also cranked 78 home runs, a total that ranks fourth best in EMU history.
Eastern notched its first winning season since the 2011 campaign by sweeping Northern Illinois, May 18-20, to close the regular season.
To stay up to date with all things EMU baseball throughout the offseason, continue to check EMUEagles.com, or follow the team on Twitter, @EMU_Baseball.
TUCSON, Ariz. (EMUEagles.com) - Eastern Michigan University baseball student-athlete Josh Kross (Brunswick, Ohio-Brunswick-Toledo) has been tabbed a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, the publication announced today, June 7.
With the honor, Kross becomes just the second player in program history to earn Freshman All-America status, and the first since Brian Bixler earned the honor from Louisville Slugger in 2002. Kross is the 11th player in EMU program history to earn an All-America honor. Prior to Kross, Matt Kirk was the most recent honoree, earning third team status from CBN following the 2022 campaign.
Kross is one of 62 awardwinners in this year's class, and is one of just two players from the Mid-American Conference to be tabbed with the honor. He is joined by Bowling Green State University's DJ Newman, who picked up the nod in the 'multiple positions' category.
Kross, who was named the MAC Freshman of the Year and a First Team All-MAC selection in late May, had a historic season in his first year for the Green and White. He ranked fifth in the MAC with a .376 batting average, finishing first in RBIs (70), third in hits (86), fourth in doubles (18), and fifth in home runs (15). His 70 runs knocked ranks 16th in the nation while his 149 total bases is 33rd-best in the NCAA Division I ranks. Not a prototypal slugger, Kross was the second hardest player in the MAC to strikeout, fanning once every 8.8 at-bats.
The Brunswick, Ohio, native's 70 RBIs tied for second-most in a single season at EMU. He finished tied with Chris Hoiles (1986) and Ryan Goleski (2002), one shy of the record held by Derrick Peterson (71 - 2004). All told, Kross had 30 multiple-hit games to go along with a pair of four hit performances. He also had 22 multi-RBI games over the course of the year, including driving in five against Western Michigan, March 18.
EMU's offense was electric in 2023, finishing the regular season second in the Mid-American Conference in average (.297), hits (556), doubles (125), runs (409), and scoring per game (7.7). The team also cranked 78 home runs, a total that ranks fourth best in EMU history.
Eastern notched its first winning season since the 2011 campaign by sweeping Northern Illinois, May 18-20, to close the regular season.
To stay up to date with all things EMU baseball throughout the offseason, continue to check EMUEagles.com, or follow the team on Twitter, @EMU_Baseball.
Players Mentioned
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