John Nett and Sam Riola named All-Americans
6/12/2023 10:15:00 AM | Baseball
Riola earns Second Team honors from ABCA, Nett named Third Team while both add Third Team accolades from NCBWA
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State junior centerfielder John Nett and redshirt senior two-way second baseman Sam Riola earned All-American honors from two nationally recognized publications as the DII collegiate season came to a close last weekend. Riola was named a Second Team All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association, joined by Nett on the Third Team, while both earned Third Team accolades from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
John Nett enjoyed an incredible junior season tablesetting the NSIC Champion Huskies lineup, slashing .446/.527/.625 for a 1.152 OPS across 53 games while scoring 61 runs and blasting 21 doubles, three triples and four home runs. The Appleton, Wisconsin product added 20 stolen bases on an 80.0% success rate and drove in 53 runs. Nett's plus-plus approach was on full display as the leadoff man struck out in just 7.8% of his plate appearances while working walks at a strong 12.0% clip – helping him maintain a whopping .522 wOBA. His .444 batting average led the NSIC and ranks sixth in the NCAA while his 96 hits are fourth in the country and tied Jordan Smith's single-season program record. Incredibly, Nett reached base in 52 of 53 games played while producing 29 multi-hit games and four four-hit contests. The junior won his first NSIC Gold Glove this spring for his work in centerfield, logging 415.2 errorless innings with four outfield assists and a 2.43 range factor/9. Nett becomes a first time All-American in 2023.
Sam Riola delivered one of the most impressive two-way performances in program history this spring, guiding the Huskies to the NCAA Tournament as the centerpiece of the order and ace of the staff in addition to breaking the program's career home run record by blasting his 36th long ball. Riola started all 53 games, producing a .356/.423/.649 triple-slash for a 1.072 OPS with 72 runs scored, 13 doubles, five triples, 14 home runs and 65 RBI. The redshirt senior led SCSU with 23 stolen bases on an 88.5% success rate while striking out in just 9.9% of his plate appearances and walking in 8.7% of his trips, producing a stellar .474 wOBA. On the mound, Riola went 4-5 over 14 appearances with a 5.05 ERA and a 4.14 FIP across 62.1 innings while striking out 79 and walking just 25 batters. Leading the Huskies in innings pitched, starts and strikeouts, Riola owned 28.1% strikeout rate and held opponents to a .260 batting average. His glove was also extremely strong at second base, owning a .972 fielding percentage with just three errors and a strong 3.86 range factor/9. Riola closes his career as a two-time All-American.
Under head coach Pat Dolan, 22 student-athletes have been named All-Americans to push the program's total to 26.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Baseball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
John Nett enjoyed an incredible junior season tablesetting the NSIC Champion Huskies lineup, slashing .446/.527/.625 for a 1.152 OPS across 53 games while scoring 61 runs and blasting 21 doubles, three triples and four home runs. The Appleton, Wisconsin product added 20 stolen bases on an 80.0% success rate and drove in 53 runs. Nett's plus-plus approach was on full display as the leadoff man struck out in just 7.8% of his plate appearances while working walks at a strong 12.0% clip – helping him maintain a whopping .522 wOBA. His .444 batting average led the NSIC and ranks sixth in the NCAA while his 96 hits are fourth in the country and tied Jordan Smith's single-season program record. Incredibly, Nett reached base in 52 of 53 games played while producing 29 multi-hit games and four four-hit contests. The junior won his first NSIC Gold Glove this spring for his work in centerfield, logging 415.2 errorless innings with four outfield assists and a 2.43 range factor/9. Nett becomes a first time All-American in 2023.
Sam Riola delivered one of the most impressive two-way performances in program history this spring, guiding the Huskies to the NCAA Tournament as the centerpiece of the order and ace of the staff in addition to breaking the program's career home run record by blasting his 36th long ball. Riola started all 53 games, producing a .356/.423/.649 triple-slash for a 1.072 OPS with 72 runs scored, 13 doubles, five triples, 14 home runs and 65 RBI. The redshirt senior led SCSU with 23 stolen bases on an 88.5% success rate while striking out in just 9.9% of his plate appearances and walking in 8.7% of his trips, producing a stellar .474 wOBA. On the mound, Riola went 4-5 over 14 appearances with a 5.05 ERA and a 4.14 FIP across 62.1 innings while striking out 79 and walking just 25 batters. Leading the Huskies in innings pitched, starts and strikeouts, Riola owned 28.1% strikeout rate and held opponents to a .260 batting average. His glove was also extremely strong at second base, owning a .972 fielding percentage with just three errors and a strong 3.86 range factor/9. Riola closes his career as a two-time All-American.
Under head coach Pat Dolan, 22 student-athletes have been named All-Americans to push the program's total to 26.
For all the latest on St. Cloud State Baseball, stay tuned to SCSUHuskies.com and follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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