Eagles' land four on All-ACC Team, Frelick wins Defensive Player of the Year

Sal Frelick became the program's first major conference award winner since joining the ACC in 2006.

Since joining the ACC in 2006, Boston College has had just four All-ACC First Team selections. On Monday afternoon, the Eagles put a program-record three on the First Team, another on the Second Team, and also claimed their first major conference award since they were a part of the Big East.

After an outstanding year in center field, Sal Frelick earned Defensive Player of the Year honors along with a First Team nod. He was joined on that team by second baseman Cody Morissette and third baseman Luke Gold, making BC one of just two teams (North Carolina State) to have three first-team selections.

Right-hander Emmet Sheehan wrapped up the Eagles’ end of season honors with a Second Team selection.

It was an impressive haul for BC, who came one shy of 2019’s total of five for the most total selections in program history. Frelick and Morissette joined Chris Shaw and Mickey Wiswall as the only two-time selections since 2006. Gold will have a chance to match them next season after a breakout sophomore campaign.

Here’s a look at each of the four.

CF Sal Frelick
(.359/.443/.559, 6 HR, 27 RBI)

In his first full season on The Heights after missing the end of 2019 due to injury and seeing 2020 shortened, Frelick saw his draft stock soar and ended the year firmly in the Top 10 of MLB Draft mocks. Not only did he make a plethora of diving catches in the outfield, but he was also one of the conference’s best hitters. Frelick struck out just one more time than he walked (28 to 27) and ended the year on a 19-game hit streak. He added 17 doubles, swiped 13 bases, and had a OPS north of a thousand.

2B Cody Morissette
(.321/.398/.497, 6 HR, 33 RBI)

After a slow start to the year and after fighting two through injuries during the season that cost him eight games, Morissette still finished the year hitting .321—good for 19th in the conference. The junior reminded everyone why he’s described as having one of the best swings in college baseball thanks to a white-hot back half of the year. In his last 15 games, he hit .451 (28-for-62), had a six-hit weekend against Virginia, and closed the season on a 16-game hitting streak.

3B Luke Gold
(.316/.364/.576, 9 HR, 45 RBI)

While his torrid home run pace at the start of the year (eight in his first 17 years) proved unsustainable, his knack for coming up with timely hits with runners in scoring position stayed true. In those situations, Gold was 20-for-59 (.339) with 10 extra base hits and 34 RBIs. His weekend against Miami will go down as one of the most impressive of the season. On the year, he established himself as a dangerous middle-of-the-order hitter to follow the likes of Frelick and Morissette and will likely pace the offense again in 2021.

RHP Emmet Sheehan
(5-5, 4.23 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 12.4 strikeouts per nine)

At the start of the season, the staff ace was projected to be Mason Pelio and the hope was for Sheehan—who had an 8.16 ERA over four starts in 2020—to take the next step in his development. He did that and more, eventually taking over the Friday night starter role and flourishing. Utilizing a high fastball that got endless swings and misses, Sheehan finished fifth in the ACC with 106 strikeouts, one shy of the program single-season record. In conference play, he had a 3.67 ERA and held opponents to a .222 batting average against.

Featured Images and Graphics Courtesy of BC Athletics