Charlie Muniz | Position: Catcher
Charlie Muniz | Position: Catcher
Charlie Muniz Named To The 2023 Preseason Baseball All-American Team
The NAIA national office announced the 2023 preseason All-American team on Tuesday. The NAIA-Baseball Coaches Association (NAIA-BCA) All-America Committee annually selects 17 players, and Charlie Muniz earned a spot on the list.
Out of the 19 conferences sponsoring baseball in the NAIA, only 12 have a player on the list. Muniz is the Mid-South athlete featured on the list; he is also the only underclassman on the list.
Looking at Muniz's freshman year, the Naranjito, PR native was named First-team All-All-American to cap his stellar season. He also took home First-Team All-Conference honors, along with MSC Player of the Week and NAIA Ball Player of the Week honors. Looking at the Cumberlands record books, Muniz sits in sixth place for single-season batting average, second in single-season hits, sixth in single-season doubles, fifth in season homeruns, and fifth in single-season RBIs.
The Catcher led the Patriots in several stat categories last season, as he batted a team and conference-high .418 for the year with 92 hits. He also led the Mid-South in home runs with 19, while adding 170 total bases. Muniz also came away with 66 RBIs and had a .773 slugging percentage. He tallied 21 doubles on the year. Behind the plate, Muniz tallied 278 putouts with 37 assists for a fielding percentage of .987. He also showed off his arm on multiple occasions as he threw 15 people out that tried to steal a base.
Now for his top single-game performances. He notched 28 multi-hit games, including four with two or more home runs. In a game against Freed-Hardeman, he went 5-5 with two homers, a double, and three RBIs. Then in a game against Cincinnati-Clermont, Muniz went 4-4 tallying two homers, a double, and six RBIs.
Cumberlands will open their season at home on February 3, as they take on Olivet Nazarene at 3 pm. They return to action again on the following day, February 4, as they host a double-header against Olivet Nazarene with the first pitch at noon.
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up