HATTIESBURG, Miss. (May 19, 2015) – Conference USA announced its 2015 all-conference awards on Tuesday and three Panthers were recognized for their play this season. Junior Edwin Rios was named to the league's first team, while senior Brian Portelli and junior Danny Dopico earned second-team honors.
 
Rios, who enters the C-USA Championship hitting .314, is a first-team selection. The Orlando, Fla., native has record 18 home runs and 55 RBI in 54 games this season. His 18 home runs rank tops in the conference and No. 3 in the nation, while his RBI total is No. 1 in C-USA and No. 29 nationally. The 18 long balls hit by Rios are the fourth-most in a single season in FIU history to increase his career total to 29 (tied for No. 7 all-time in school history). Rios has registered a .633 slugging percentage (No. 1 C-USA) and .423 on-base percentage (No. 7 in C-USA). He has notched 17 multiple-hit games, including a season-high four hits versus Charlotte (3/21), and 13 multiple-RBI contests, including six in the same Charlotte contest. For his performance that week, he was named the C-USA Hitter of the Week.
 
Portelli was named to the C-USA second team after hitting a team-best .336 with four home runs and 43 RBI. His .336 batting average ranks No. 6, while his .488 slugging percentage ranks No.13 in the conference and his 43 RBI are the eight-most among all league batters. The Rochester, Mich., native led the Panthers with 73 hits, including 17 doubles. His 17 two-baggers rank No. 6 in the conference. The FIU outfielder has also notched a team-best two triples while scoring 38 runs (second-most on the team). Portelli has registered a team-best 23 multiple-hit games and the second-high multiple-RBI contests on the team (11). Portelli had a team-best 14-game hit streak this season.
 
Dopico, who earned Second-Team All-C-USA recognition, appeared in 23 games in his first season with the Panthers. The Miami native has registered a 1.60 ERA in 39.1 innings pitched out of the bullpen. Dopico ranks No. 3 in C-USA in saves (9) and is No. 2 on the team in Ks (49) in having pitched less than 40 innings this season. His 23 games of relief rank No. 11 in C-USA and has finished the second-most games in C-USA (19). On the year, Dopico is holding opponents to a .163 BA and owns a 2-4 record. In his 23 outings, Dopico has allowed an earned run in just five appearances (7 ER in 2015). He picked up wins vs. Tennessee (2/13) and LA Tech (4/25) and had a career-high six strikeouts (1.2 IP) in his FIU debut vs. Tennessee (2/13). He record four-or-more strikeouts in four difference games and had at least one strikeout in 20-of-23 appearances.
 
2015 CONFERENCE USA BASEBALL AWARDS
 
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Brendon Sanger, Jr., OF, Florida Atlantic
 
PITCHER OF THE YEAR
James McMahon, Sr., RHP, Southern Miss
 
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Ryan Chandler, Fr., OF, Rice
 
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Ronnie Jebavy, Jr., OF, Middle Tennessee
 
KEITH LECLAIR COACH OF THE YEAR
Jim McGuire, Middle Tennessee
 
ASSISTANT COACH OF THE YEAR
Michael Federico, Southern Miss
 
FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
IF Jesse Baker, Jr., UTSA
IF CJ Chatham, So., Florida Atlantic
IF Edwin Rios, Jr., FIU
IF Ford Stainback, Sr., Rice
OF Ronnie Jebavy, Jr., Middle Tennessee
OF Anderson Miller, Jr., WKU
OF Brendon Sanger, Jr., Florida Atlantic
C John Bormann, Sr., UTSA
DH/UT John Clay Reeves, Sr., Rice
SP James McMahon, Sr., Southern Miss
SP James Naile, Sr., UAB
SP Austin Orewiler, Jr., Rice
SP Jordan Stephens, Jr., Rice
RP Matt Ditman, Sr., Rice
 
SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
IF P.J. Higgins, Jr., Old Dominion
IF Danny Hudzina, Jr., WKU
IF Tim Lynch, Jr., Southern Miss
IF Ricky Santiago, Sr., Florida Atlantic
OF Roman Collins, Jr., Florida Atlantic
OF Brad Jarreau, So.., Middle Tennessee
OF Brian Portelli, Sr., FIU
OF Kirby Taylor, Sr., Rice
C Esteban Tresgallo, Jr., UAB
DH/UT Adam Lau, Jr., UAB
SP Chase Boster, So., Marshall
SP Nate Hoffmann, Jr., Middle Tennessee
SP Drew Jackson, Sr., Florida Atlantic
SP Phil Maton, Sr., Louisiana Tech
SP Sam Sinnen, So., Old Dominion
RP Danny Dopico, Jr., FIU
 
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
C Ryan Miller, Florida Atlantic
C Brent Diaz, Louisiana Tech
IF Taylor Braley, Southern Miss
IF Zach Rutherford, Old Dominion
OF Ryan Chandler, Rice
OF Trent Bowles, UTSA
OF Brett Netzer, Charlotte
RHP Blake Stansberry, Middle Tennessee
LHP Kirk McCarty, Southern Miss
RHP Chance Kirby, UTSA
LHP Ryan Ruggles, UAB
   
The Panthers will face the Rice Owls in the first round of the 2015 C-USA Baseball Championship in Hattiesburg, Miss., on Wednesday, May 20. First pitch is set for 1:30 p.m. ET from Pete Taylor Park. 
 
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $8.9 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.