Braden Cox Named to ABCA All-Region Team

EUREKA – Eureka junior first baseman Braden Cox (Washington, Ill./Illini Bluffs H.S./Black Hawk) has been selected for the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings NCAA Division III All-Region 8 Third Team, according to an announcement from the organization on Wednesday. Cox is Eureka's first All-Region choice since 2019.

2022 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division III All-Region Teams

Cox, one of the 10 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference players picked for the 2022 All-Region Team, is the fourth Red Devils to earn the regional honor from the ABCA, joining Sean Green (2019), Bobby Freeman (2005) and John DeCicco (1997).

Wednesday's announcement comes just 20 days after Cox's selection to the All-SLIAC First Team, the Red Devils' third First Team choice since 2019. In 164 plate appearances over 38 games at first base, he put up a .400/.451/.686 line while pacing the Red Devils with 56 hits and 49 RBI. He finished second in the league in RBI (49), tied for third with nine home runs, fourth in batting average (.400), fifth in slugging percentage (.686) and tied for fifth in doubles (13).

Cox's nine homers were the most by a Red Devil in a season since Hall of Famer Alex Hess clubbed 10 during his senior season in 2011.

Cox also scored 37 runs in 2022, drew 16 walks and stole three bases. At first base, he recorded a .985 fielding percentage with 241 putouts and 27 assists in 272 chances.

In SLIAC play, no one in the league collected more hits, tying with Fontbonne's Braeden Dobbs and Blackburn's Adam Holm. He posted the league's second-highest batting average (.429) and the fifth-highest slugging percentage (.740).

Cox had 17 multi-hit games, including five in which he had three or more. He went 4-for-5 in the last regular-season game of the year at Webster, and on three occasions, he produced two doubles in the same game, including in the SLIAC Tournament quarterfinals against Spalding. From April 22 to May 1, Cox homered in four straight games, and he went yard twice in a 9-8 win over Capital in Texas on March 7.

The ABCA, founded in 1945, is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. Its over 13,000 members represent all 50 states and 25 countries. Since its initial meeting of 27 college baseball coaches in June 1945, Association membership has broadened to include eight divisions: NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA, Pacific Association Division, High School and Youth.