SALISBURY, Md. – Back for more after helping the Sea Gulls return to the game's biggest stage, outfielder
Kavi Caster and right-handed pitcher
Jimmy Adkins of the Salisbury University baseball team were named
D3baseball.com 2023 Preseason First-Team All-Americans, announced by the organization on Wednesday morning.
Caster, a senior from Crofton, Md., slashed .411/.544/.750 with 36 extra-base hits, 65 RBIs, 71 runs scored and 30 stolen bases over 51 games in 2022, setting school records in runs, walks (47) and total bases (144). The Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) Player of the Year, Caster became a consensus First-Team All-Region VI selection and consensus All-American, earning First-Team recognition from D3baseball.com and a Second-Team nod from the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA).
Caster enters the 2023 campaign as the Sea Gulls' career leader in slugging percentage (.700) and on-base percentage (.515), as well as ranking top-10 in batting average (.394), triples (eight), home runs (18) and stolen bases (51).
Adkins, a senior from Delmar, Del., and C2C Medal of Inspiration laureate, returned from a serious back injury to put up transcendent numbers in 2022. In 17 appearances (10 starts) he went 7-2 with a 1.87 ERA, three complete games, three saves, 13 walks and 87 strikeouts over 91.1 innings. Adkins was named D3baseball.com Pitcher of the Year, a consensus All-American (D3baseball.com First Team, ABCA Third Team), consensus Region VI Pitcher of the Year and C2C Pitcher of the Year.
Adkins will take the bump in 2023 ranking fourth in SU history in strikeouts (215), sixth in saves (six) and top-15 in pitching appearances (54), starts (27), innings pitched (233.1) and ERA (3.01).
Salisbury was one of just four teams with two D3baseball.com Preseason All-Americans and the only program with a pair of First-Team honorees. Including Caster and Adkins, SU returns 26 players from a 2022 squad that finished 39-12 and advanced to the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship finals for the second straight year.
The Sea Gulls will open the 2023 slate on Friday, Feb. 17, at 2 p.m. when regional rival Cortland State pays a visit to Donnie Williams Sea Gull Baseball Stadium.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with the New Jersey Athletic Conference for football, Coastal Lacrosse Conference for men's lacrosse and the Metropolitan Swimming and Diving Conference for men's and women's swimming. With over 500 student-athletes in 21 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, and dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on-and-off the field. The Sea Gulls have celebrated 22 team national championships, 24 individual national champions, 188 conference championships and 43 Academic All-Americans.
To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or on social media @SUSeaGulls.
