CollegeBaseballInsider.com National Players of the Week

National Player

Xavier Macklin (Rocky Mount, N.C.)

North Carolina A&T junior outfielder

Macklin belted five home runs and drove in 10 in five games for the Aggies. He went 7 for 16 (.438) with one double. Macklin went deep three times on Saturday at Savannah State to raise his season total to 22 and his career total to 49. Macklin scored five and drove in seven, giving him 182 career RBI.

National Pitcher

Mike Strong (Afton, Minn.)

Oklahoma State senior left-hander

Strong was dominant against Baylor in the series opener on Friday. He struck out a career-high 14, matching the highest total in the Big 12 this season. Strong allowed two hits in eight innings, both singles, and did not walk a batter. No runner advanced past second as the Cowboys won 1-0 in 10 innings.

Regional Players of the Week

Northeast Player

Paul Karmas (Douglaston, N.Y.)

St. John’s senior first baseman

Karmas went 11 for 20 (.550) and drove in 12 in four games. Karmas had three doubles and two homers, including a grand slam, as the Red Storm posted a 4-0 week. He had four multi-hit games and three multi-RBI outings. Karmas knocked in five in one contest and three in two others.

Northeast Pitcher

Chris Franzese (Howard Beach, N.Y.)

Long Island sophomore right-hander

Franzese pitched a complete-game shutout against Central Connecticut State in the NEC series opener on Friday. Franzese allowed five hits and did not walk a batter in a 1-0 victory over the Blue Devils. Franzese struck out five in raising his record to 7-3 and lowered his ERA to 3.84.

Southeast Player

Ronnie Freeman (Lawrenceville, Ga.)

Kennesaw State sophomore catcher

Freeman went 8 for 17 (.471) with three homers, six runs and 10 RBI in four games. He posted an on-base percentage of .571 and slugging percentage of 1.059 as the Owls went 4-0. During an Atlantic Sun sweep of UNF, Freeman had five runs and nine RBI. He homered twice and knocked in five in the second game.

Southeast Pitcher

Buck Farmer (Conyers, Ga.)

Georgia Tech sophomore right-hander

Farmer earned a pair of victories in two starts. He allowed one run in seven innings on Monday in a 5-1 win at UIC. Farmer gave up four hits in eight scoreless innings with seven strikeouts in a 3-0 victory on Sunday against North Carolina to give the Yellow Jackets the ACC series win.

Central Player

T.J. Baumet (Brownsburg, Ind.)

Ball State senior shortstop

Baumet batted .647 (11 for 17) with five doubles, one homer, six runs and five RBI in four road games. Baumet had three steals and walked three times for an on-base percentage of .700. He had three multi-hit games, including two four-hit outings, and posted a slugging percentage of 1.118.

Central Pitcher

Zach Cooper (Hartland, Mich.)

Central Michigan junior right-hander

Cooper tossed a complete-game one-hit shutout as the Chippewas blanked Western Michigan 3-0 on Saturday. He walked two and struck out six in nine innings. The lone hit was a two-out single in the second. Cooper set down 10 of the first 12 batters to start the game and 12 of the final 13 hitters.

West Player

Cameron Edman (Florence, Mont.)

Gonzaga senior catcher

Edman went 10 for 18 (.556) in four road contests with five doubles, three home runs and 10 RBI. He extended his hit streak to 13 games. Edman had career highs with five hits, three homers and six RBI on Monday at BYU. Edman had a two-run double and another RBI two-bagger on Friday at Portland.

West Pitcher

Aaron Griffin (El Cajon, Calif.)

Loyola Marymount sophomore right-hander

In two starts, Griffin did not allow an earned run in 15.1 innings with 14 strikeouts. He left with a 2-1 lead after 6.1 innings on Monday in a no-decision against CSUB (3 H, 1 UE, 2 BB, career-high 8 K). Griffin pitched a complete-game shutout on Sunday at Saint Mary’s (6 H, 1 BB, 6 K).

Note - regional players of the week are chosen based on their conference affiliation. To see our list of regions, click here.

(photos courtesy of Media Relations Offices)