Lincoln – Nebraska second baseman Pat Kelly was recently named a second-team freshman All-American by Perfect Game, the fourth freshman All-America honor that Kelly has received for his success during the 2012 season. The Red Wing, Minn., native was previously named a freshman All-American by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Kelly is the first Husker freshmen to be named to four All-America teams following their first season at Nebraska. Previously, Matt Hopper collected the most awards following a freshman season with three in 2000, when he was honored by Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America and Baseball Weekly.

Overall, the Huskers have picked up six national honors following the 2012 season, as freshman pitcher Kyle Kubat was also named a freshmen All-American by Collegiate Baseball and designated hitter Michael Prichard was a named a third-team All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

Kelly made a quick transition to college pitching and was one of the Huskers’ top offensive threats with a .313 average, eight home runs and 37 RBI’s in 41 starts. He was twice named Big Ten Freshman of the Week and was a third-team All-Big Ten selection.

Kelly was third on the team with a .521 slugging percentage and his eight home runs were the most homers by a freshman at Nebraska who played at Haymarket Park. They were also the most homers by a Husker freshman since 2000, when Hopper hit 21 at Buck Beltzer Stadium. Kelly hit throughout the Husker lineup and produced 16 extra-base hits, including six doubles and two triples in addition to his eight home runs.

Kelly came up with clutch hits all season for NU, as he hit .367 with runners on base and .364 with runners in scoring position. He had 11 multi-hit games on the year, including a pair of four-hit games. He drove in at least two runs 11 times, including a career-high five RBI’s against Penn State at the Big Ten Tournament in a 12-3 win over the Nittany Lions.

This summer Kelly is playing for the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters in the Northwoods League and leads the team with a .333 batter average and 29 RBI. He was recently named to the Northwoods League All-Star Game along with fellow Husker and Eau Claire Express third baseman Josh Scheffert.

–Jeremy Foote, Nebraska Sports Information