FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – After winning the first NCAA South Region tournament title in program history, the No. 6 Nova Southeastern University baseball team (39-16, 18-6 SSC) has placed two student-athletes on the NCBWA All-America Team, as Devin Raftery and Brandon Gomez have each earned their fourth and fifth postseason awards. Gomez was named NCBWA First Team and D2CCA Third Team All-American designated hitter , while Raftery was named NCBWA Third Team and D2CCA Honorable Mention All-American relief pitcher.

Raftery has been rewarded for a remarkably dominant season. Raftery has 14 saves and 82 strikeouts in just 46.0 innings pitched. Those 14 saves are the program's single-season NCAA record and second-most all-time, only two out of first place, while his 82 strikeouts and 16.03 strikeouts per nine innings are both records among relievers. Raftery enters the Division II College World Series with the lowest single-season ERA in program history among pitchers with at least 30 innings, at 1.17. Raftery's best performance came on the final week of the regular season when he struck out 11 hitters in four innings, setting the single-game record for strikeouts in relief, and the most by any Sharks pitcher in a game this season. Raftery has recorded a strikeout in 44 consecutive relief appearances dating back to last year, and his 16 strikeouts in 7.2 innings of the South Regional Tournament, which earned him the tournament Most Valuable Player Award, were the most by a pitcher in any of this season's eight regional tournaments, while also giving him 128 in his two-year Sharks career, breaking the program record for a reliever, previously held by Sean Albury (2008-2011) at 125. Entering the Division II College World Series, Raftery is first in career ERA (1.24), first in strikeouts per nine innings (14.35) and second in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (5.31) among all active Division II pitchers. Among all active NCAA pitchers, he is first in strikeouts per nine innings, second in ERA, and fourth in fewest hits allowed per nine innings.

Brandon Gomez has led a power surge for the Sharks, helping the team set a program record of 80 home runs this season. Meanwhile, his 20 individually rank second in a single season in program history. The junior is second in the Sunshine State conference in both home runs and RBI with 71, also tying the NCAA era single-season RBI record, set by Justin Garcia last year. In addition to home runs and RBI, Gomez also leads the team in runs scored (53), hits (74), triples (3), total bases (155) and slugging percentage (.708).
 
This is just the third season in program history that two players were named All-Americans. In 2009, current Detroit Tigers All-Star J.D. Martinez and Houston Astros starting pitcher Mike Fiers were both voted to Rawlings/ABCA All-America Third Team, and in 2012, Areo Regoli and Carlos Asuaje were both unanimous Second Team selections on the All-America lists published by Daktronics, Inc./D2CCA, NCBWA and Rawlings/ABCA. Gomez is also just the third player in program history to be named a First Team All-American, following Derek Antelo in 2005 (by Rawlings/ABCA) and single-season home run record holder and Houston Astros prospect Justin Garcia, unanimously, last season.