Richmond, V.A.- Junior Justin Cassella and Sophomore Shea Sprague were selected to the All-CAA First Team for their performances during the 2023 season. Elon University baseball had seven players earn All-CAA honors as the league announced its postseason awards on Tuesday, May 24. The Phoenix's seven honorees are the most for Elon since 2019 when eight Phoenix were honored.
 
Four different Phoenix were honored to the CAA Honorable Mention with: Cole Reynolds, Luke Stephenson, Ryan Sprock and Joe Savino all collecting CAA Honorable Mention. This is the second All-CAA Honorable Mention award for Luke Stephenson during his time with the maroon & gold, while this is the first postseason honor for Reynolds, Savino, or Sprock.
 
Both Ryan Sprock and Justin Mitrovich were named to the CAA All-Rookie Team. For the eighth consecutive season in the CAA, the Phoenix have had a selection to the All-Rookie team. This is the second time in three seasons that Elon has had multiple players selected to the team with Alex Iadisernia and Justin Cassella elected to the All-Rookie Team in 2021.
 
Justin Cassella was honored on the first team, achieving an All-CAA First Team outfielder selection for the Phoenix for the second consecutive season. Justin Cassella was red-hot during CAA play, finishing with 13 home runs against conference opponents during the regular season. The 13 long balls are the most during conference play for any player in the conference since 2015, when Elon joined the CAA. Cassella set career marks in batting average (.338), runs (43), hits (54), doubles (11), home runs (16), RBI (45), and slugging percentage (.719).
 
Shea Sprague followed up his 2022 CAA Rookie of the Year and All-CAA First Team campaign with outstanding performances during his sophomore regular season. Sprague was selected as the CAA Pitcher of the Week twice this season following efforts against Kentucky and Akron. Sprague finished first in the CAA in innings pitched with 83.2. The sophomore finished second in the conference in ERA (2.80) and strikeouts with 77. Sprague finished with the second highest win total of any starter in the league with seven victories including wins over Kentucky, Delaware and most recently Hofstra. Sprague now possesses a 13-6 career record with an ERA of 2.41 with 118 career strikeouts.
 
Luke Stephenson earned his second All-CAA Honorable Mention honor during his time with the Phoenix. Following a year that saw Stephenson lead the CAA in home runs, Stephenson increased his batting average by 24 points to .275 while finishing the season with 21 extra-base hits. Stephenson had his signature game in the maroon & gold against Stony Brook earlier this season finishing game two of the series 3-for-5 with a career-high and Phoenix season high seven RBI. The catcher would double twice and homer in the effort against the Sea Wolves.
 
Cole Reynolds was selected to his first CAA Postseason team, having been selected to the All-CAA Honorable Mention. Reynolds saw career highs hits (58), runs (39), home runs (8), RBI (39), walks (29) and saw a career-low in strikeouts. The junior first baseman found himself in the top-10 in the CAA in five different offensive categories during conference play. Reynolds was top-10 in slugging percentage, on-base percentage, OPS, runs scored and walks during conference play. Against Towson on April 1, Reynolds had a career day going 4-for-5 with four runs scored and four RBI.
 
Joe Savino was selected to the All-CAA Honorable Mention team for the 2023 season. Savino made 21 appearances out of the bullpen and accumulated the most strikeouts in the CAA for a primary reliever. Savino finished the season with a career high in wins with five and was one strikeout short of his season high. Opponents are batting a career-low against the right-hander, batting just .218 against Savino. Savino helped the Phoenix clinch their spot in the CAA Championships against North Carolina A&T with an eight-strikeout effort in 6.1 innings against the Aggies.
 
Freshman Ryan Sprock was selected to both the Al-CAA Honorable Mention as well as to the All-Rookie Team. The three-time CAA Rookie of the Week made an impact both on the mound and with the bat. He finishes the season with a .296 batting average with 40 hits, seven home runs and 32 RBI, all freshman highs for the Phoenix. Sprock had his best performance on the mound against Northeastern earlier this season. Against the Huskies, the freshman finished six innings of work surrendering just three hits, while collected 12 strikeouts. The 12 strikeouts were the most by a Phoenix this season and the most by an Elon freshman since Kyle Brnovich hurled 15 strikeouts against William & Mary in 2017.
 
Justin Mitrovich was also selected to the All-Rookie Team for the 2023 season. Mitrovich cemented himself as the Saturday starter in the Phoenix rotation. Mitrovich finishes his freshman campaign with top-10 finishes in the conference in ERA (3.84), wins (6), strikeouts (60) and walks allowed (17). Mitrovich earned CAA Pitcher of the Week honors earlier this season for his effort against the Delaware Blue Hens. In the outing, Mitrovich picked up the win clinching the series victory over the Blue Hens. The freshman hurled a career-high seven innings, surrendering just three hits and no runs to go along with a then career-high eight strikeouts.
 
Following the two-game sweep of Hofstra, the Phoenix clinched a first-round bye at the 2023 CAA Championships in Charleston, S.C. Elon will face off with either Northeastern, the College of Charleston or Delaware in their first matchup which will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday.