TUCSON, Ariz. – Mercer outfielder Colby Thomas was named to the 2020 Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American Team, which was announced by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper on Tuesday morning.

This marks the sixth straight year that Mercer has had a player named to Collegiate Baseball’s Freshman All-American Team. Thomas joins Angelo DiSpigna (2019), Le Bassett (2018), RJ Yeager (2018), Zach Graveno (2017), Robert Broom (2016), and Trey Truitt (2015) as Bears who have earned the honors since Mercer joined the SoCon.

Glancing at the Southern Conference batting leaders will show fans just how strong of a start that Thomas got off to in his inaugural campaign in Macon. The Valdosta, Ga., native led the conference with five home runs and nine doubles. He had a six-RBI game against Radford and nine multi-hit games.

“This is a great honor for Colby Thomas and we are excited for him,” remarked Head Coach Craig Gibson. “He is an explosive athlete with a high ceiling with a great work ethic and high baseball IQ. He is one of the rare guys that I have coached that can prioritize his development. We are excited for him to be the best player he can be and help lead our team to another championship.”

Over Mercer’s first 16 games, Thomas hit .333 (23-for-69). He led the team in doubles (9), home runs (5) and RBI (18) on the season. He had an on-base percentage of .403 and a slugging percentage of .681.

In his first game as a Bear, Thomas showed off his power by hitting his first career home run over the left field fence. In the Bears’ midweek matchup at Florida State, Thomas hit two home runs, for his first multi home run game.

Former Lowndes product Dalton Smith of Georgia Tech was also named to the Freshman All-America Team.

Collegiate Baseball Newspaper is an American publication based in Arizona that considers itself the voice of amateur baseball and has been published for over 40 years.