FULLERTON, Calif. – Third baseman Matt Chapman earned ABCA/Rawlings All-America and All-West Region honors, it was announced by the American Baseball Coaches Association on Wednesday.
Chapman, who was selected by the Oakland Athletics with the 25th overall selection in the 2014 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, was named to the ABCA All-America First Team as well as garnering West Region First Team honors after his stellar season with the Titans. He was one of four players out of the Big West Conference who earned All-American recognition. In addition, Chapman also earned an ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Award in the West Region.
It was Chapman's third All-American selection as he was named to Baseball America's and Louisville Slugger's All-American teams. It was the first time in Chapman's three-year career with the Titans the Trabuco Canyon-native was named to an All-American team. He also earned his first All-Big West First Team selection in 2014.
Chapman was one of nine players out of the Big West named to the ABCA/Rawlings All West Region Team and one of four players making it to the first team.
In 2014, Chapman hit a career-best .312 with six home runs and a team-high 48 RBI in 54 games. The 6-foot-2 infielder started 53 games at third base and made just six errors in 157 chances. He was second on the team with 24 extra-base hits, a .498 slugging percentage and .412 on-base percentage.
On May 11, Chapman reached a career milestone as he drove in his 100th RBI as a member of the Titans. He went 3-for-4 against UC Riverside with a double and two runs scored. In the first inning, Chapman drove in his 100th and 101st career RBI as he hammered a two-run double to left field.
During his three years at Cal State Fullerton, Chapman played 162 games and made 157 starts. He hit .295 with 171 hits, 37 doubles, five triples and 13 home runs. He drove in 108 RBI and scored 103 runs to go along with 13 stolen bases.
Chapman became the 13th Titan to be selected in the first round of the MLB Draft and was the highest pick for the Fullerton baseball program since Christian Colon (4th overall, Kansas City) and Gary Brown (24th overall, San Francisco) were first-round selections in 2010. It was also the 40th consecutive year the Titans have had at least one player selected in the MLB Draft.