On the eve of the 2023 BIG EAST Baseball Championship Presented by JEEP, the conference announced the regular-season awards and all-conference teams.

Leading Connecticut to its third consecutive BIG EAST regular-season title, third baseman Dominic Freeberger was awarded BIG EAST Player of the Year.

Congrats to Jake Bloss on being named BIG EAST Pitcher of the year!! Bloss was also a unanimous selection on the all-conference first team!#HoyaSaxa | #Team153 pic.twitter.com/4zYR0vcYkh

— Georgetown Baseball (@GtownBaseball) May 23, 2023

Georgetown’s graduate right-hander Jake Bloss was named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year, while Butler’s freshman outfielder Joey Urban was selected as the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year.

Rounding out the major awards, Seton Hall head coach Rob Sheppard and his crew were selected as the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year.

Along with the four major regular-season awards, the conference announced the 2023 All-Conference first and second teams, preceding the BIG EAST Championship, which will take place at Prasco Park in Mason, Ohio, from May 24-27.

The league’s tournament teams: Connecticut, Georgetown, Seton Hall and Xavier, made up each of the 15 all-conference first-team selections, including 26 out of 31 of the combined members on the first and second teams.

UConn, the regular-season champion and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming tournament, had a league-high five all-conference first-team selections, along with seven combined on both teams, while No. 2 Xavier led the league with eight all-conference members, including three on the first team.

No. 3-seeded Seton Hall had four members named to the All-BIG EAST first team, while Georgetown landed three on each team.

🏆 𝐀𝐥𝐥-𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐏𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 🏆

𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦
Nick Payero
Max Viera
Staus Pokrovsky
Devin Hack

𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦
Jonathan Luders

𝐁𝐈𝐆 𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐂𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫#HALLin 🔵⚪️ | #NeverLoseYourHustle pic.twitter.com/N26v6wvMB4

— Seton Hall University Baseball (@SHUBaseball) May 23, 2023

The 15-member first team was made up of four starting pitchers, a reliever, each infield position, four outfielders, a catcher and a designated hitter. The second team was based on a non-positional vote.

Voting for the All-BIG EAST team and major awards was conducted by the league's eight head coaches, who could not cast a ballot for their own players. Ties were not broken.

Freeberger earned the BIG EAST’s top individual honor after a productive campaign for top- seeded UConn.

The graduate third baseman batted .329 in 20 league games and 82 at bats, while driving in 20 runs, scoring 15 runs and collecting three doubles.

Over the course of a 53-game season, Freeberger produced a .350 (76-for-217) average, scoring 55 runs, 57 RBIs, collecting 31 walks and producing seven home runs.

Defensively, he registered a .933 fielding percentage, with 42 put outs and 70 assists.

Earning seven league starts, Bloss boasted a 5-2 record against BIG EAST opponents to lead the Hoyas back to the BIG EAST Championship for the second consecutive season, in addition to garnering BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year accolades.

Bloss powered the Hoyas with a 2.61 ERA, boasting a league-high 60 strikeouts to just 13 walks.

Over the course of the regular season, Bloss earned the start in 13 contests, capping the regular season with a 2.43 ERA and an 8-4 record over 77.2 innings pitched. He allowed 54 hits and 27 runs, with 102 strikeouts.

A key contributor for Butler, Urban earned the start in the outfield in all 21 conference games and scored 15 runs to be named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year.

In league play he batted .303 with a .404 slugging percentage, while collecting 11 RBIs and hitting six doubles.

Overall, he appeared in all 55 games for the Bulldogs, batting .296 with 37 runs, 35 RBIs, 17 doubles, three triples, six home runs and 20 walks.

Defensively, he posted a near-perfect .992 fielding percentage, garnering 119 put outs and six assists against just one error.

After capping the 2022 regular season seventh in the BIG EAST standings at 7-13, Rob Sheppard and his staff quickly turned things around with a 13-8 league mark and the No. 3 seed in the BIG EAST Championship, closing the regular season on a six-game winning streak.

2023 BIG EAST Baseball Regular-Season Awards 

Player of the Year
Dominic Freeberger, UConn, Gr., 3B

Pitcher of the Year
Jake Bloss, Georgetown, Gr., RHP

Freshman of the Year
Joey Urban, Butler, Fr., OF

Coaching Staff of the Year
Seton Hall, Head coach Rob Sheppard

All-BIG EAST First Team *

Stephen Quigley, UConn, Gr., SP
^ Jake Bloss, Georgetown, Gr., SP
Nick Payero, Seton Hall, Gr., SP
Brant Alazaus, Xavier, Sr., SP
Zach Fogell, UConn, Gr., RP
Matt DePrey, Xavier, Jr., C
Ben Huber, UConn, Gr., 1B
Michael Eze, Georgetown, Jr., 2B
Max Viera, Seton Hall, Jr., SS
Dominic Freeberger, UConn, Gr., 3B
Staus Pokrovsky, Seton Hall, R-Jr., DH
Jake Studley, UConn, Gr., OF
Ubaldo Lopez, Georgetown, Gr., OF
Devin Hack, Seton Hall, R-Jr., OF
Andrew Walker, Xavier, Sr., OF 

All-BIG EAST Second Team (Alphabetical) *

Luke Broadhurst, UConn, Gr., DH
David Smith, UConn, Jr., 2B
Jack Grace, Creighton, Sr., OF
Hogan Helligso, Creighton, So., C
Owen Carapellotti, Georgetown, So., C
Jake Hyde, Georgetown, Jr., OF
Austin Kretzschmar, Georgetown, Gr., SS
David Glancy, St. John’s, R-Jr., OF
Aaron Mann, St. John’s, Gr., 1B
Jonathan Luders, Seton Hall, R-Jr., 2B
Craig Larsen, Villanova, Gr., SS
Ethan Bosacker, Xavier, Sr., SP
Jared Cushing, Xavier, Sr., 2B
Justin Loer, Xavier, So. RP
Matt McCormick, Xavier, Sr., 1B
Grant Stephenson, Xavier, Jr., 3B

^Denotes unanimous selection
*Denotes a tie in voting