STANDISH, ME – Todd Keneborus '11 (Hollis Center, ME/Cheverus), Chris Campbell '11 (Rochester, NH) and Sam Murray '12 (Walpole, MA) have been listed as "Players to Watch" for the upcoming season by Collegiate Baseball magazine.
Keneborus, a right fielder, collects the preseason honor after posting a banner junior season in which he hit .464 (77-166) with 52 runs, 15 doubles, 13 triples, four homers and 65 RBI. He paced the Monks' vaunted offense in virtually all categories and garnered GNAC Player of the Year, First Team All-GNAC, D3Baseball.com Third Team All-America, ABCA/Rawlings Third Team All-America, First Team All-NEIBA and NCAA DIII New England All-Tournament honors as a junior.
Keneborus is the only player in SJC Baseball history to earn All-America honors from two national organizations in the same season.
Campbell, one of the finest top-of-the-order threats in the region, earned All-GNAC honors for the second consecutive season in 2010 when he hit .405 (64-158) with a team-high 54 runs scored. With 63 hits as a sophomore and 64 as a junior, he is the only player in program history to register back-to-back 60-hit seasons. An athletic, heady and versatile player, Campbell is expected to play at a variety of positions as a senior after primarily manning the shortstop spot for the Monks last spring.
After an injury-riddled rookie season, Murray broke out in a big way during his sophomore season and was credited with GNAC Pitcher of the Year, First Team All-GNAC, Second Team All-NEIBA and Second team All-ECAC honors for his efforts. The deceptive southpaw went 7-2 with a 2.45 ERA, 35 K's and just seven walks in 58.2 innings in 2010 and is expected to lead the Monks' pitching staff again this spring.
The 2011 "Players to Watch" list, which spotlights a select group of student-athletes at each position, was chosen by NCAA Division III baseball coaches across the country. The list is included in the January 7th issue of Collegiate Baseball, a newspaper that covers all levels of college baseball.
The 2010 St. Joe's team posted a 35-13 record, captured a conference title for the fifth time in the past six seasons and advanced to the NCAA DIII New England Regional for the fourth time in the last five years. The Monks won three games at the regional and advanced to the final day of the tourney last spring.
Since 2005, only two New England programs have posted more wins (190) and just three have notched a better winning percentage (.714). St. Joe's is one of three teams in the region to have made four New England Regional appearances in the last five seasons and one of four to notch five 30-win seasons over the last six years.
The 2011 campaign will be Coach Sanborn's 19th as the Monks' leader. He is the most successful coach in SJC Baseball history with a 471-273-6 career record and corresponding .633 winning percentage.
The 2011 season begins with a challenging spring trip to Winter Haven, Florida where the Monks will face off against the likes of Curry, Wheaton and Keene State during the week of March 13th – 18th.
2011 COLLEGIATE BASEBALL PLAYERS TO WATCH PDF