Tuesday, June 10, 2003

RHP Josh Banks nets second-team recognition
FIU’s Ricardo Nanita earns first-team all-region Baseball honors

IU junior outfielder Ricardo Nanita was one of 14 players chosen to the Rawlings/All-South Central Region Baseball Team announced Tuesday by the American Baseball Coaches Association. Golden Panthers junior RHP Josh Banks was a second-team selection.

The left-handed hitting Nanita led FIU this past season in nearly every offensive category. The Dominican Republic native batted .388 with 12 home runs and 52 RBI in 56 games. In last week’s Major League Baseball amateur draft, Nanita was the 14th round pick of the Chicago White Sox.

His selection to the all-region first team now makes him eligible for the ABCA’s All-American team that will be announced later this month.

Banks, FIU’s first-team All-Sun Belt Conference pitcher, topped the Golden Panthers staff with an 8-3 overall record and 114 strikeouts in 105 1/3 innings of work. As the 50th overall selection to the Toronto Blue Jays in last week’s MLB draft, Banks became the highest Golden Panther player ever taken.

The South Central Region is comprised of 33 schools. Among the conferences represented are the Sun Belt, Southland, Southwest Athletic, Atlantic Sun, Conference USA and the Western Athletic. Head coaches in the region selected the two all-star teams.

FIU finished the 2003 season with a 36-23 record and a fifth-place finish in the Sun Belt Conference. Head coach Danny Price sports a 957-490 (.661) career mark over his 24 seasons at the helm of the Golden Panthers.