June 29, 2010
George Mason senior shortstop Ryan Soares was named Virginia Player of the Year on Tuesday as voted on by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID). Soares, who was named first-team Louisville Slugger All-American and is a finalist for the Wallace Award as the nation's top shortstop is the second-straight Mason player to win the award, following Chris Henderson who won it last year. Also being named All-State was designated hitter Shane Davis.
Soares hit .438 with 29 doubles, 13 homers, 71 RBI, 57 runs scored and an .809 slugging percentage, set the school record for single-season batting average, single-season doubles and career doubles and broke the Colonial Athletic Association record for single-season doubles. His 13 sacrifice flies are the second-most in NCAA Division history, one shy of the national record. Heading into the College World Series, Soares led the nation in doubles per game, was fourth in RBI per game and was seventh in both batting average and slugging percentage. His batting average and slugging percentage were both among the top 10 in CAA history.
Soares was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 26th round of Major League Baseball's First-Year Draft. He made his professional debut on June 20 and has played in three games. He picked up his first hit on Sunday playing for the Connecticut Tigers of the New York-Penn League. The Harwich, Mass. native was also named CAA Player of the Year this season and was third-team All-American according to Ping!Baseball.
The Wallace Award, of which Soares is one of three finalists, will be presented on Friday.
Davis, who was All-CAA for the second-straight season this year, was named second-team All-Virginia as a designated hitter. The rising senior hit .283 with nine homers, 45 RBI, 32 runs scored and a .500 slugging percentage. He was second on the team in homers and he played in 49 of Mason's 50 games with 45 starts.
