EASTLAKE, Ohio – Suffolk baseball's Harry Painter made history one last time as a Ram as he earned third-team All-American status from the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings, the national organization announced at the Opening Ceremony of the NCAA Division III College World Series Thursday night.
The ABCA/Rawlings All-America teams are selected by members of the ABCA All-America committees. ABCA/Rawlings All-Region First-Team honorees, which were announced Tuesday, were on the All-America ballot.
"This is a tremendous honor and accomplishment for Harry and one that we as a program are very proud of," head coach Anthony Del Prete said. "Harry has proven to be one of the best hitters in the New England over the course of his career. His turnaround on the mound this season was a key component to our team's overall success and showcased his true ability and skill level as an all-around baseball player."
Painter is the first Suffolk student-athlete in a decade to receive one of college baseball's top honors from ABCA/Rawlings, first since Mike Cunningham '13 did so in 2013 and eighth overall. He is the first player to earn All-America status from the ABCA/Rawlings under Del Prete.
Two years ago, the Essex, Massachusetts native became the 10th All-American in Suffolk's baseball history with the program's first-ever first-team recognition from D3baseball.com in 2022. The blue-and-gold now has 11 All-American honors on its baseball shelf – eight from the ABCA/Rawlings and three handed out by D3baseball.com.
Painter owns two of those such awards making him the only baseball player in the University athletic record books to do so. He is the second-ever Ram to have multiple All-America awards, first since softball's Jess Ferreria '09 collected a pair from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) in 2006 and 2009, respectively.
The right-handed utility player was one of 74 student-athletes recognized on one of four the 2024 ABCA/Rawlings All-America Teams. He was one of four Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) players to make the prestigious lists as Endicott's pitcher Jordan Gottesman was selected to the second team along with Nichols' shortstop Johnny Knox and the Bison's outfielder Brennan Hyde joined Painter on the third team.
The accolade comes after a year in which Painter provided at the plate, in the field and on the mound.
Offensively, his bat supplied a team-best 62 hits, which lands on Suffolk's single-season top-10 list. Of those, 28 went for extra bases including 18 doubles, five triples and five bombs. His 18 two-baggers sit second in a single-season for a blue-and-gold batter all-time. His 60-plus hits totaled 105 bases to make him the first known Ram in program history to have multiple 100-plus total base seasons as he accomplished the feat in 2022 as well. His offensive output featured 43 RBI thanks to a .350/.415/.593 slash line and 47 runs scored.
Painter saved his best stuff on the hill for his last collegiate campaign. The most effective pitcher on Suffolk's staff this year, he compiled a 3.02 ERA over 44.2 innings of work in seven appearances, all starts, to finish with a 5-1 mark. The strikeout pitcher punched out 61 batters for an impressive 12.29 Ks per 9.0 innings of work. His wins were highlighted by an 8.0-inning, two-hit, 12-strikeout gem in a 23-0 shutout of the Rams regional rival Saint Joseph's (Maine) April 21. His career-high 12 Ks versus the Monks in Vacation Land marked the most by a blue-and-gold pitcher since Mitch Monke sat down a dozen batters in a 16-3, seven-inning win over Norwich, April 10, 2011. Painter put an exclamation point on his pitching career in a 3-1 CCC Elimination Tournament contest victory over Wentworth. He let up one run on six hits and fanned 10 batters in his first-ever 9.0-inning complete-game.
The two-way player was a crucial cog to Suffolk's successful season. He anchored the blue-and-gold to a nine-game win streak April 20-30, its most victories in a row in the Del Prete era and longest since March 22-April 6, 2014 when it strung 10 wins in a row. The Rams had their best finish in the CCC in program history with a 9-5 league ledger en route to the third seed in the conference's postseason. In the league tournament, the blue-and-gold won a pair of games for the first time in program history. Suffolk, who finished the year 26-17 overall, was also featured in the regional rankings via NCAA.com each week it was published to wrap up the year fifth in Region II.
The 2024 season brought several distinctive honors for Painter. Just this week he was tabbed first-team all-region by ABCA/Rawlings and D3baseball. At the conference level he garnered a pair of All-CCC honors with a second-team selection as a first baseman and third-team recognition as a pitcher.
Throughout his career, Painter has collected two All-America nods, one preseason all-america, six all-region recognitions, four all-conference accolades and was the 2022 CCC Player of the Year to be one of the most decorated Rams in program history.
2024 ABCA/RAWLINGS NCAA DIVISION III ALL-AMERICA TEAMS
FIRST-TEAM
C – Daniel Rogers, Loras
1B – Isaac Kim, Pomona Pitzer
1B – Sam Angelo – Montclair State
2B – Davie Morgan, North Carolina Wesleyan
3B – Alex Christie, Hanover
SS – Trent Youngblood, Transylvania
OF – Jacob Charon, Lawrence
OF – Matt Scolan, Wisconsin Whitewater
OF – Tyson Bass, North Carolina Wesleyan
OF – Eric Colaco, Denison
OF – Parker Knoll, Lawrence
DH – Andrew Mazzone, Calremont Mudd Scripps
UT – Connor Maryniak, Misericordia
P – Jackson Teer, Trinity
P – Michael Hilker Jr., Wisconsin Whitewater
P – Sayers Collins, East Texas Baptist
P – Dylan Weber, Christopher Newport
P – Cord Butler, North Carolina Weselyan
SECOND-TEAM
C – Caleb Cyr, John Hopkins
1B – Eli Frank, Wisconsin Whitewater
1B – Landon Mokris, Greenville
2B – Mike Ramundo, Alvernia
3B – Freddy Forgione, SUNY Maritime
SS – Johnny Knox, Nichols
SS – Tommy Kreider, SUNY New Paltz
OF – JC Ng, Pomona Pitzer
OF – CJ Colyer, Pacific
OF – Jelani Hamer, Oswego State
OF – Dane Jones, LeTourneau
DH – Ryan Kramer, Wooster
DH – Sam Lavin, St. Olaf
P – Roman Tozzi, Catholic
P – Joe Valenti, Misericordia
P – Jordan Gottesman, Endicott
P – Johnny Blake, Dubuque
P – Erik Sibbach, Stevens
THIRD-TEAM
C – Hunter Strong, Spaulding
1B – Isaiah Hairston, Guilford
2B – Howie Hatton, Grown
3B – Patrick Gillen, Calvin
3B – Bradley Comer, Wisconsin Stevens Point
SS – Riley Hasson, Johnson & Wales
SS – Jacob Hand, WPI
OF – Matt D'Amato, Salve Regina
OF – Jake Brosius, Coe
OF – Brennan Hyde, Nichols
OF – Ben Burkhart, Rhodes
OF – Joe Lukancic, Aurorar
DH – Connor Blake, Illinois Tech
UT – Harry Painter, Suffolk
P – Nick Guidas, Grove City
P – Sean Mulligan, Salve Regina
P – Luis Misla, Cortland
P – Caleb Buehrle, Millikin
P – Hannoh Seo, Pomona Pitzer
FOURTH-TEAM
C – Cole Palmeri, Colby
1B – Noah Leib, Denison
2B – Henry Mitcham, Transylvania
2B – Tyler Cannon, Rowan
3B – Tony Rossi, Susquehanna
3B – James Murphy, St. John Fisher
SS – Noah Meffert, George Fox
OF – Sam Buduris, Eureka
OF – Quinn Madden, Lynchburg
OF – Mat Bruno, Cortland
OF – Tim Petrucelli, Salisbury
DH – Brett Kiger, Beloit
UT – Tyler Reistetter, Merchant Marine
UT – Bobby Bartlett, North Park
P – Quinn Berglin, Lawrence
P – Bryce Schaum, Carthage
P – Will Rettig, Denison
P – Nathan Stein, Messiah
P – Ryan Lapierre, Westfield State