Berry named National Freshman Pitcher of Year

Rice freshman righthander Ryan Berry has been named the Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball National Freshman Pitcher of the Year, the newspaper announced on Wednesday. He is joined by Owls teammate Diego Seastrunk and Houston pitcher Wes Musick on the All-Freshman team. C-USA has produced at least three Freshman All-Americans in each of its 12 seasons.

Berry has produced a remarkable rookie campaign for the Owls as he was named First Team All-Conference USA and captured the league's Freshman of the Year honor. Heading into this weekend's super regional against Texas A&M, he is 11-2 with a 2.72 ERA. Berry has struck out 109 batters and walked just 30 in 109 innings. With 11 wins, Berry has tied the Rice freshman school record for victories, set by former first round draft pick Matt Anderson in 1995.

Berry becomes the seventh player from a current Conference USA school to earn National Freshman of the Year honors from at least one source since 1999. Included are four players from Rice.