While Helmick was the lone Tiger to make first team All-CAA, Towson dominated the second team with four selections. Both of the Collins brothers, senior first baseman Matt Collins and junior centerfielder Kevin Collins, were named to the second team. In addition, sophomore Chris Wychock was named as the second baseman on the All-CAA second team and sophomore Austin Harclerode was named as the utility player on the All-CAA second team.

Freshman rightfielder Ben Winter was also honored by the CAA, earning a spot on the All-Rookie team.

Helmick, who finished the regular season with a CAA-leading .430 batting average, is the first Tiger to earn first team All-CAA honors since 2005 when Jason Maxey, ‘05 and Casper Wells, ‘06 were honored. He is the seventh Tiger baseball player to be named first team All-CAA since Towson joined the CAA in 2002. Currently an outfielder in the Detroit Tigers’ farm system, Wells is the only Tiger who was named first team All-CAA twice, earning first team honors in 2004 and 2005. All-American outfielder Gregg Davies, ’02 was a first team All-CAA selection in 2002 while shortstop Brian McKenna, ’03 and designated hitter Mike Costello, ’04 were first team picks in 2003.

Selected as one of 15 semi-finalists for the 2009 Brooks Wallace Award as the nation’s top shortstop, Helmick set school records for base hits (98), runs scored (72), triples (9), total bases (179) and slugging percentage (.785) in his senior year while leading the CAA in six statistical categories. In addition, Helmick hit safely in 49 of 53 games while cracking 17 home runs with 51 runs batted in. With 98 base hits, he was four shy of tying the CAA single season record for hits in a season.

Helmick, who became the fourth player in school history to hit for the cycle when he accomplished the feat against Yale in March, was honored as the CAA Player of the Week twice in the 2009 season. He finished his career with a .324 batting average, 33 doubles, 12 triples, 30 home runs and 113 runs batted in.

With four picks, the Tigers were the only school with more than two players chosen for the All-CAA second team.

A third team All-CAA honoree as a junior, Matt Collins earned second team notice at first base in the 2009 season. The Tigers’ second-leading hitter with a .367 batting average, he had 81 base hits, fifth in the CAA. The CAA leader with 23 doubles, he broke the Towson single season record for two-base hits. He also hit eight home runs and drove in 52 runs, ranked tenth in the CAA.  In his career, Matt Collins batted .314 with 52 doubles, 17 homers and 125 RBI’s.

A starter in all 53 games, Kevin Collins was the Tigers’ third-leading hitter with a .335 batting average. He ranked fourth in the CAA with 61 runs scored and led the Tigers with 56 runs batted in. With 56 RBI’s, he was sixth in the CAA. The younger brother of Matt, Kevin Collins was second on the team with 14 home runs and tied a school record when he hit three homers in one game, a win over Yale in March. With 17 doubles, three triples and 14 homers, he ranked sixth in the CAA with 139 total bases. He was second on the team with a .629 slugging percentage and a .438 on-base percentage.

In his first season as a starter, Wychock became the Tigers’ regular second baseman when Nick Natoli suffered a pre-season knee injury that required surgery. He responded with a very productive year as he batted .310, sixth on the team. He also tied for second on the team with 14 homers and drove in 51 runs, fourth on the team. A starter in 51 games, he scored 49 runs and had 19 doubles. His 19 doubles tied him for seventh in the CAA. With a .610 slugging percentage, he was third on the team.

A member of the CAA’s All-Rookie team as a freshman, Harclerode batted .329 with 11 doubles, nine home runs and 29 RBI’s as a sophomore. Selected as the second team All-CAA utility player, he saw action at designated hitter, third base, second base and in the outfield. The Tigers’ top hitter with a .441 batting average in CAA games, he overcame a slow start and hit .404 over the final 29 games of the season. He also hit two game-winning “walk-off” home runs in victories over James Madison and Northeastern. Harclerode also had a .549 slugging percentage and scored 39 runs in 48 games.

The Tigers’ regular rightfielder, Winter earned a spot on the CAA’s All-Rookie team by batting .275 in 44 games. He scored 23 runs with nine doubles, three home runs and 17 runs batted in. He also had an outstanding season defensively, handling 74 fielding chances without an error in rightfield. Winter, a two-time All-Metro selection at Centennial, also pitched in nine games and posted a 1-1 record.

George Mason, the CAA regular season champion, had five players on the first team while defending CAA champion James Madison placed four players on the first team.. Towson, Old Dominion, Hofstra, Georgia State had one first team All-CAA selection each.

James Madison led all the schools with eight selections on the three All-CAA teams. George Mason had seven players honored while Towson and Georgia State had five honorees each. Old Dominion, Delaware and William & Mary were each represented by three players while UNC Wilmington had two players named All-CAA, both third team picks. Hofstra, Northeastern and Virginia Commonwealth each had one player named to the All-CAA teams. Old Dominion dominated the All-Rookie team with three picks while William & Mary had two players honored. Georgia State, UNC Wilmington, Northeastern, Delaware and Towson each had one member of the CAA’s All-Rookie team.

The Tigers, who were the CAA runners-up last year, survived a rash of injuries to finish the 2009 campaign with a 28-25 record, their second straight winning season. The Tigers, who were 12-12 in the CAA, missed out on a second straight CAA Tournament berth on the final day of the season, losing, to Northeastern, 12-8.

TIGER TALES: In the 2009 season, the Tigers shattered the school record for team batting average by compiling a .321 team batting mark ... Towson was fourth in the CAA in batting and broke the school record of .315 that was set last season ... Led by Matt Collins and junior third baseman Steve Yarsinsky, the Tigers also set a school record with a CAA-leading 137 doubles ... While Matt Collins set a school record with a CAA-leading 23 doubles, Yarsinsky was second in the CAA with 21 doubles.

The Tigers also led the CAA with 97 home runs in 53 games, the second-highest single season total in school history ... Their total of 97 homers was topped only by the 2005 Tigers, who led NCAA Division I with 105 home runs ... Towson was ranked ninth in the nation last week in home runs.

The Tigers, who lose six seniors to graduation, featured a very balanced offense in 2009 ... Seven Tigers batted over .300 and five Tigers scored at least 40 runs ... Led by Helmick, five Tigers hit at least ten home runs while Towson had seven players with at least 40 runs batted in.

In addition to losing to Matt Collins and Helmick to graduation, the Tigers will also lose senior catcher Jason Stifler, senior outfielder Aaron Gabrielian and senior pitchers Duane Herr and Josh Squatrito ... Stifler, a two-year starter at catcher, batted .266 as a senior with seven doubles, 12 home runs and 44 RBI’s ... Gabrielian, who finished his career with an 11-game hitting streak, homered twice in the final game of his career ... He finished the season with a .307 batting average, 11 doubles, 10 home runs and 40 RBI’s ... Herr missed his senior year with an elbow injury ... Squatrito finished his career as Towson’s all-time leader with 17 saves ... As a senior, he posted a 5-2 record with seven saves.

With a .966 team fielding percentage, the Tigers were ranked fifth in the CAA ... Towson played its best defense in CAA games with a .971 fielding mark ... With 52 double plays in 53 games, the Tigers were second in the CAA ... In their final seven games of the season, the Tigers had a .992 fielding percentage with only two errors in 264 fielding chances.