June 20, 2003

NEW ORLEANS, La. - With the highly successful 2003 baseball campaign in the books, the individual honors for Tulane's standout players have poured in as junior Michael Aubrey was named to nearly every All-America team while Brian Bogusevic and J.R. Crowel both claimed Freshmen All-America honors.

Aubrey, the 2003 Conference USA Player of the Year and one of five finalists for the Golden Spikes Award as the nation's top collegiate player, earned first-team All-America honors as a first baseman from the American Baseball Coaches Association and Baseball America while picking up second-team recognition from Collegiate Baseball, Sports Weekly, and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. He also earned first-team All-America honors as the designated hitter from CollegeBaseballInsider.com.

Bogusevic and Crowel, meanwhile, earned second-team Freshmen All-America honors from Baseball America after claiming rookie honors from Collegiate Baseball Magazine nearly two weeks ago.

Aubrey, the 2001 National Freshman of the Year and consensus Freshman All-American, claimed his first outright All-America honors after leading the team in practically every offensive category with the exception of stolen bases. He placed Conference USA in batting average (.420), hits (102), RBI (79) and on-base percentage (.505) while tallying 33 multiple-hit games and 23 multiple-RBI contests. In the 2003 Major League Baseball First-Year Player's Draft, Aubrey went 11th overall to the Cleveland Indians, becoming the highest player selected in Tulane baseball history.

Crowel, the Conference USA and Louisiana Freshman of the Year, claimed the honor after leading the team in strikeouts (73), opponent batting average (.268) and innings pitched (87.1) while finishing second on the squad in wins (8-1) and ERA (3.40). After suffering through some growing pains early in the season, he developed into one of Tulane's most consistent hurlers, tossing a pair of complete-game victories and leaving the game with the lead on 12 occasions.

Bogusevic, meanwhile, claimed the honor after hitting .321 with four home runs and 36 RBI at the plate while going 3-2 with a 3.41 ERA from the mound. A Freshmen All-American and C-USA All-Freshman Team member, Bogusevic had 17 multiple-hit games and eight multiple-RBI contests. As a pitcher, claimed a pair of wins as a starter, but came out of the bullpen against LSU on April 29 to earn his third victory of the year in the Louisiana Superdome.

Aubrey's honors mark the eighth consecutive season Tulane had at least one player earn All-America recognition, dating back to 1996 when Jason Navarro was named second-team All-American by Collegiate Baseball. The duo of Bogusevic and Crowel claiming Freshmen All-America honors runs the rookie streak to five years, dating back to 1999 when James Jurries and Jake Gautreau both claimed first-team honors from Collegiate Baseball.