Baseball Announces 2006 Award Winners

Kingsley, Agustin, Oliveri and Otto take honors
BUFFALO, NY- The University at Buffalo baseball team handed out its season-ending awards to four players who played integral parts in the team's success in 2005.

Head coach Bill Breene and his staff handed out the following awards: freshman Brad Agustin (Williamsville, NY/Williamsville East) earned the Top Newcomer Award, sophomore Rick Oliveri (Tonawanda, NY/Canisius) earned the Most Improved Player Award, senior Aaron Otto (Lockport, NY/Newfane) earned the Coaches' Award and senior James Kingsley (Medina, NY/Medina) earned the Most Outstanding Player Award.

Brad Agustin

The Top Newcomer Award is presented to the individual student-athlete who distinguishes himself as the most talented new player on the team or the individual who accomplishes the greatest achievements as a first-year player. Agustin made quite the impact on Buffalo baseball during his rookie year. He finished the season with 40 runs after a four-run game against Bowling Green on May 14, just four behind the school record set by Pat Raimondo in 1980. He fell one shy of the rookie record set by sophomore Mike Folli (Endicott, NY/Union-Endicott) last season. The 5-10, 195-pound shortstop posted a 14-game hitting streak starting on Apr. 1 that helped his average climb all the way to its .268 from a low-water mark of .200. He finished the season on a 36-for-117 (.308) tear, scoring 28 runs and driving in 23. In the process, he set a school-record for RBIs by a freshman and he posted two five-RBI games, as he blasted five RBIs in a 27-12 win against Niagara and added five more three days later in a 7-6 defeat of Akron on April 29. He also added seven home runs, which falls in a tie for tenth on UB's all-time single-season list.

Rick Oliveri

The Most Improved Player Award is presented to the student-athlete who has made the greatest stride or improvement in his performance from the previous season or from the beginning of the season to the end of the season. Just two years after shoulder surgery took forced him to redshirt, Oliveri earned the Most Improved Player Award by coming back from the injury that cost him much of his freshman year last season and capturing a slot in the starting lineup for the final part of the season. Oliveri hit .327 (16-for-49) with nine runs and five RBIs, as he took a starting slot in the lineup 12 times this year, finding time mostly behind the plate, but also at designated hitter. He went 2-for-4 with two runs in Apr. 29's 7-6 win at Akron, as the catcher started the game-tying fifth-inning rally and the game-winning eighth inning rally with singles. The catcher hit .555 (5-for-9) with four runs, a double and two RBIs against Bowling Green. He went 1-for-1, walked twice and was hit by a pitch to score three times in Buffalo's 11-8 win on May 14. On May 20, he delivered a huge insurance RBI single in the Bulls' 5-3 win against Kent State.

Aaron Otto

The Coaches' Award is selected by the head coach and is given to the student-athlete who best exemplifies the team virtues as defined by the head coach. The recipient is one who stands out in dedication, commitment, unselfishness and enthusiasm towards helping the team improve. Otto, a five-year member of the Bulls, was, in many ways, seen as the heart of the team. Although he only started three games and got 14 at bats all season, he delivered one of the largest hits of the season, as he blasted a laser shot to left-center for a double in a 5-3 win against Kent State on May 20. He finished his career with two homers and 11 runs scored in 50 games.

James Kingsley

The Most Outstanding Player Award is given to the student-athlete who makes the most significant contribution to the accomplishments of the team through his skills and leadership. Kingsley leaves Buffalo as perhaps the best hitter in the era since reinstatement, as he not only compiled a .325 career average, he become the first player in school history to reach 200 career hits and hit 25 homers, as only Joe Mihalics '05 (200 hits) and Bryan Sanchez '03 (25 home runs) had reached either plateau. Kingsley, who set UB career records for doubles (50) and total bases (355) earlier this season, passed the mark for career RBIs set by Bryan Sanchez (2000-03) in his next-to-last game, as he blasted a two-run homer to right center field against Kent State on May 19, helping him finish his career with 138 RBIs. This season, alone, Kingsley led the squad in average (.343, 14th in the Mid-American Conference), doubles (15), RBIs (38) and total bases (110). He started out the season in a 19-for-82 slump, but finished by going 51-for-122 (.418) with 34 RBIs, helping him became the first player in school history to get 70 hits in a season twice in a career. He was also the first to get 100 total bases three times in a career.

The UB baseball team finished the season 15-37 overall and 6-21 in the MAC.

05/23/2006