East Carolina, which captured its first Conference USA regular-season baseball title since 2004 with a 17-7 league record, had seven players selected for the league's all-conference team, including five on the first team.
ECU Coach Billy Godwin received the Keith LeClair coach of the year award, named for the former Pirates coach who battled Lou Gehrig's disease before his death in 2006. ECU right-hander Chris Heston, a junior college transfer, was named league newcomer of the year.
Heston, a transfer from Seminole College, is 7-0 with a 3.44 ERA. He had a league-high 84 strikeouts and 29 walks in 81 innings.
Godwin guided ECU to its third straight 40-win season. The Pirates are 41-15 heading into the Conference USA Tournament, which begins today at Hattiesburg, Miss. ECU, the tourney's top seed, will face eighth-seeded Central Florida (22-33) today. East Carolina swept the regular-season series with UCF, outscoring the Golden Knights 49-7 in the three-game series.
Pirates named to the All-Conference USA first team were second baseman Ryan Wood (.391, 13 HRs), outfielder Stephen Batts (.368, 13 HRs), designated hitter Kyle Roller (.335, 13 HRs) and pitchers Seth Maness (9-0, 3.99 ERA) and Heston.
Outfielder Trent Whitehead (.377, 6 HRs) and pitcher Brad Mincey (9-4, 3.02) were named to the second team. Pitcher Kevin Brandt (7-1, 3.46) was selected for the league's all-freshman squad.
