PORTLAND, Ore. --- Portland shortstop Kris Kauppila capped a stellar first year with the Pilots by landing on the Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-America Team, announced by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. This marks the second straight year that a Pilot has been named Freshmen All-America after infielder Riley Henricks earned the honor last season.
Kauppila was one of two Pilots to start every game this season and he led the team in a plethora of offensive categories. The native of Glendale, Calif., hit a home run in his very first collegiate at-bat and ended the season with team highs of 46 runs, 72 hits, 20 doubles and 22 multi-hit games. He also batted .336, which ranked second on the team, with four homers, 21 RBI’s, 104 total bases and was successful on eight of 10 stolen base attempts. Kauppila was solid in the field as well, leading the team with 145 assists.
Kauppila had a 13-game hitting streak during his freshman campaign and never went hitless in back-to-back games.
The West Coast Conference placed at least three players on the Freshmen All-America Team for the fourth straight year, with Pepperdine’s Cole Cook and Troy Channing of Saint Mary’s also earning the honor this season.
