June 6, 2007

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara University freshman catcher Tommy Medica added another honor to his resumè Wednesday as he was named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America Team, as selected by Collegiate Baseball. The selection marks the second year in a row that Santa Clara has landed at least one freshman on the team, as Matt Long and Matt Wickswat earned the honor last year.

"We are extremely proud of Tommy for being named a freshman All-American, and we believe that this is only the tip of the iceberg for him," said Santa Clara head coach Mark O'Brien. "He is a superb defensive catcher and great receiver on top of his offensive attributes, and this honor is very much deserved. We look forward to to seeing him grow and help the program to future success."

Medica, a San Jose native and former Bellarmine College Prep star, as well as one of the top young catchers in the nation, turned in a spectacular rookie campaign in 2007, capturing the West Coast Conference batting title with a .373 average en route to being named to both the All-WCC First Team and All-Freshman Team. Despite missing 11 games and parts of three others due to an injury that shelved him for a month early in the season, Medica managed to hammer out 60 hits on the year, including nine doubles, four triples, and a home run. He also drove in 23 runs while scoring 32.

His season was highlighted by an offensive tear that began as soon as he returned to full-time duty from injury. From March 10 through the end of the season, Medica batted a scorching .391 while also notching all 14 of his extra-base hits over that span and driving in 21 runs.

Medica posted a 13-game hitting streak from March 30-April 21, with his batting average reaching a peak of .414 at one point of that streak. He also recorded 17 multi-hit games on the year, most notably a 5-for-5 performance at San Francisco on April 7 that helped garner him WCC Player of the Week and Collegiate Baseball National Honor Roll honors for the week of April 2-8.