July 4, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky baseball centerfielder Austin Cousino and two-way standout A.J. Reed have been named first-team freshman All-America by Baseball America, it was announced on Wednesday afternoon.
The freshman All-America accolades now marks consensus freshman All-America honors for the UK duo. Reed was named a first-team freshman All-America by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and a member of the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team. Cousino joined Reed on the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America team, earning a second-team nod on the NCBWA All-America list. Cousino and Reed are the first UK players in program history named freshman All-America by Baseball America.
North Carolina State placed three players on the freshman All-America team, including joining UK as the only teams in the NCAA with two players on the Baseball America first team.
The two UK stars are the second and third players in program history to earn freshman All-America honors (shortstop Chris Wade, 2008) and the first UK players to earn consensus freshman All-America accolades. In 2012, Cousino became the first UK player to win Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year, with the league coaches voting him second-team All-SEC, to the All-SEC Defensive Team and on the All-SEC Freshman Team. Reed earned two spots on the All-SEC freshman team, as the designated hitter and as the first baseman.
A native of Dublin, Ohio, Cousino had one of the most prolific seasons in UK baseball history, setting new freshman marks for runs (61) and hits (83), leading UK with a .319 average, adding team-highs in doubles (20), triples (two), steals (15), at bats (260) and outfield assists (eight). A member of the 22-man USA Collegiate National Team, Cousino added nine homers and 41 RBI, owning a .515 slugging mark and a .408 on-base percentage. Cousino, a 5-foot-10, 178-pound left-handed hitter ran up two 14-game hitting streaks in 2012 and collected the second-most multiple-hit games (28) in UK single-season history. Defensively, Cousino set a new UK outfielder record with 142 putouts, leading the SEC in outfield assists.
Reed, a left-handed pitcher and first baseman, hit .300 as a middle of the order slugger for the Wildcats in 2012. The native of Terre Haute, Ind., added nine doubles, four homers and 43 RBI and owned a 5-3 record with a 2.52 ERA on the mound in 16 games and five starts. The 6-foot-4, 230-pounder tossed 53.2 innings, walking only nine and striking out 51. He had a pair of heroic postseason performances in 2012, including starting his first career game against SEC foes in the SEC Tournament opener, tossing 5.2 shutout innings and going 4-for-4 at the plate with a homer in a 2-0 win. In the 21-inning NCAA Tournament opener, Reed played the first nine innings as the designated hitter, then moved to first base for three innings before coming on in relief for a career-high nine innings.
The two freshman standouts helped lead UK to a school-record 45 win season and the best finishes in the NCAA and SEC Tournaments in program history. UK finished the season with a school-record nine players picked in the 2012 MLB Draft – second most in the NCAA – and currently lead the nation with nine players in the Cape Cod League or on the USA National Team.
