New Paltz Sports Information Department
New Paltz, NY — The American Baseball Coaches Association announced its 2024 All-Defensive Team selections Thursday with junior outfielder Michael Ascanio earning a spot on the prestigious list.
The ABCA NCAA Division III Region All-Defensive teams were voted on by a committee of Division III head coaches. Players selected were eligible for ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove honors.
Ascanio becomes the first ever Hawk in program history to be recognized for the honor, as he joined just nine others in Region III including Skidmore's Trey Bourque (catcher), St. John Fisher's Brian Norsen (first base) and James Murphy (third base), Rochester Tech's Jarin Moses (second base), St. Joseph's-Long Island's Mike DiFilippo (short stop), Cortland's Chris Bonacci (outfield), Houghton's Jeremy Wilcox (outfield) and Brockport's Justin DelVecchio (Brockport). A total of 90 student-athletes across 10 regions were recognized for their defensive prowess through the 2024 season.
Ascanio had a breakout season for SUNY New Paltz both at the plate and in the field as he manned starting center field duties where he started in all 45 games played. The Armonk, NY native had a near perfect fielding percentage, finishing with a .989 average after making 92 catches, 89 put outs, two assists with just one error all season. He made several highlight catches throughout the year, as he proved to be one of the most athletic centerfielders in the country while helping his team to a historic postseason run. At the plate, Ascanio delivered 56 hits, 62 runs and 42 RBI — the latter second most on the team — while batting .322 in 174 at-bats on the year to solidify one of the best offenses in the country.
He returns to the program for his senior campaign hoping to lead the program to back-to-back SUNYAC titles after the former Plattsburgh Cardinal aided in the team's first ever conference championship this past spring.
To view the full ABCA All-Region Defensive teams, click here.