McCarty Named Player of the Year

In what should come as a surprise to absolutely no one, former Staunton shortstop Ryan McCarty has been named the Division III Player of the Year.

McCarty lapped the field with his senior season, hitting .529/.591/1.164 in 189 at-bats (44 games), with 89 runs scored, 27 doubles, three triples, 29 home runs, 91 RBIs, 22 stolen bases, and 36 walks against 13 strikeouts. With all that power hitting, he struck out in less than 6% of his plate appearances. He led Division III in 14 categories, including batting average, hits, home runs, doubles, RBIs, runs, total bases…. I mean, it’s hard to overstate just how good his season was.

And he was excellent for Staunton in 2021, too, hitting .356/.445/.615 in 104 at-bats, with nine doubles, three triples, four home runs, and 17 stolen bases. He was clearly one of the top hitters in the league.

And then he became the best player in NCAA’s DIII! Congratulations to him, and good luck in what might come next!

Other Notes

• Brand-new Charlottesville head coach Ramon Garza (Woodstock 2019, Charlottesville 2021) was also named first team All-DIII (at second base) after hitting .387 with 18 doubles, two triples, and 14 home runs for Texas-Dallas.
• Tyler Horvat was named fifth team All-DIII at utility. He hit .434 with 12 doubles and five triples, and went 8-1, 1.13 on the mound for Washington & Jefferson. He is slated to join Garza in Charlottesville this summer.