On May 8th, it was announced that Fort Hays State University had four players selected to the All-MIAA Baseball team for the 2014 season. Senior Clayton Garland earned second teams honors as an outfielder, senior Horace Johnson earned a third team selection at first base, and juniors Cooper Langley and Kevin Czarnecki, both earned the postseason honors as honorable mention members.
Garland, a native of Cheyenne, Wyo. put together a solid senior campaign, after having a red hot summer with the Hays Larks earning Player of the Year in the Jayhawk League. Garland led the Tigers this past season with a batting average of .406, which earned him fourth in the MIAA. The senior also led the Tigers with 67 hits and 42 runs scored, and a slugging percentage of .594. Throughout the year, Garland had a team best 22 multi-hit games and a hitting streak of 21 games.
Garland was also recently named to the Rawlings/American Baseball Coaches Association All- Central Region team. Garland became the first Tiger to end a season batting at least .400 in eight years and after only two years is tied for fifth in Fort Hays history in career batting with a mark of .397.
“In his two years, he (Garland) had a lot of individual accomplishments and did some great things for our program,” said head coach Steve Johnson.
Johnson, a native of Raymore, Mo. was selected for the second straight year. Johnson hit .276 throughout the 2014 season, with 13 doubles and seven home runs. Johnson ranked 10th in the MIAA with 42 RBIs and started all 46 games this past season for the Tigers.
Johnson and Garland are the only Tigers that earned All-MIAA honors for consecutive years. Last season Johnson earned a third team selection as a designated hitter, but this is the first honor as a first baseman. Garland last year was an honorable mention.
Langley,a junior from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada earned his first All-MIAA honor. The junior hit .355 in the season and led the Tigers in extra base hits, pounding out 24, 19 of which were doubles, earning him a first place tie in leading the MIAA.
On top of earning his All-MIAA accolade, Langley also was honored as a National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association All-Central Region Second team member selection.
Czarnecki, who is also a native of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, also earned his first All-MIAA honor of his colligate career. Czarnecki was a utility player for the Tigers and played four different positions in 2014. The junior had a team leading eight home runs and 43 RBIs, while ranking second in batting average at .350.