Hofstra University freshman third baseman Matt Prokopowicz (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa) was named to the Baseball America 2007 Freshman All-America First Team, it was announced by the magazine this past Thursday.

Ranked 10th nationally in batting average, Prokopowicz's .416 average this season was 14 points higher than any other freshman in NCAA Division I baseball.

The Baseball America honor joins a multitude of other awards that Prokopowicz has received this season as he was earlier selected to the Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-American team, named a second team Freshman All-America by Rivals.com, garnered All-Ping!Baseball accolades and was named to the All-Ping! Freshmen team. The 2007 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Rookie of the Year, Prokopowicz was also a second team All-CAA and a CAA All-Rookie team honoree, and on June 18 he was named to the 2007 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-East Region Second Team. In addition to his postseason accolades, Prokopowicz was a two-time recipient of the CAA Rookie of the Week award (April 2 and May 14).

In the final NCAA statistics rankings of the 2007 campaign, Prokopowicz was 62nd in the nation in toughest to strike out and 57th in the nation in hit by pitch, in addition to his batting average rank.  Prokopowicz was second in the CAA in batting and third in on-base percentage (.491).

Prokopowicz ended his dynamic freshman year leading the Pride in batting, hits (82), RBI (52), home runs (6) and total bases (113). His 82 hits set a new single-season record, besting the previous mark of 77 set by Josh Stewart in 2005. His 52 RBI are tied for fifth place in the single season record book, while his .416 average is the 10th-best mark in program history. Prokopowicz hit safely in 47 of his 54 games played, had 24 multi-hit games and, at one point during the season, had a 17-game hitting streak.

The heralded freshman played four years of baseball at Massapequa High School in Massapequa, NY.  During his scholastic career he batted .500 with 19 home runs and 102 runs batted in.  He garnered All-New York State and All-Nassau County honors as a junior and senior, and was named the USA Today National Player of the Week in June of 2006.

For a complete list of the Freshman All-America Team, visit Baseball America's Web site at http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/college/features/264401.html.

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