PEMBROKE — Seniors Kody O’Connor and Joey Rezek added their names to a long list of UNC Pembroke baseball greats on Thursday when the pair earned spots on the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Division II All-America Squad.

Both members of the third team, the announcement marks the 36th and 37th All-American honors over the last 17 seasons for the UNC Pembroke baseball program, with 17 different players being named to at least one organization’s All-American team over that span. O’Connor and Rezek were joined by four other Conference Carolinas student-athletes in Thursday’s announcement as well.

An everyday starter in right field for the Braves, O’Connor compiled a .362 (77-for-213) batting average in 56 starts this season to go along with 18 doubles, 19 homers, and a team-high 78 RBI. The Lebanon, Ohio native also drew 33 walks and was hit by a team-high 18 pitches, while logging a .478 on base percentage and a .714 slugging percentage. The first-team All-Conference and Conference Carolinas All-Tournament Team selection racked up a team-leading 25 multi-hit games this season, and also chipped in with eight stolen bases and three outfield assists.

Rezek settled into the designated hitter role and had a breakout season, hitting .421 (83-for-197) in 51 starts, while also adding 19 doubles, 22 home runs, and 76 RBI. The senior from Colfax led Conference Carolinas and broke the UNCP single-season record for runs with 77. The Conference Carolinas Tournament MVP and first-team All-Conference selection logged 21 multi-hit games and a team-leading 24 multi-RBI games, while also going a perfect 14-for14 in the stolen base department. Rezek also provided a .521 on base percentage and an .853 slugging percentage for a ridiculous 1.374 OPS.

The duo combined to hit .348 with 67 doubles, 62 home runs, and 257 RBI in their two seasons in the Black & Gold.

Four Braves earn D2CCA All-Southeast Region honors

The postseason accolades continued for the UNC Pembroke baseball team as Rezek, Michael Dolberry II, Jonathon Jacobs, and O’Connor all earned nods on the Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-Southeast Region squad, the organization announced Thursday.

The announcement marked the second All-Region honors of the month for the quartet, with Rezek picking up his second first-team selection after being named to the NCBWA All-Region team last week. The selections marked the 13th time in the last 17 seasons that the Braves have been represented on the All-Region squad, and the fourth consecutive year seeing multiple honorees.

With his selection to the first team, Rezek will now transition to the D2CCA All-America ballot. The results of that voting will be announced in early June.

A Prince George, Va. native, Dolberry was a second-team selection and was a mainstay in left field for the Black & Gold and finished with a .382 (65-for-170) batting average to go along with 15 doubles, a triple, and 14 long balls. Another first-team All-Conference selection, the senior finished inside the top-10 in the conference in batting average, doubles, home runs, slugging percentage (.729), and stolen bases (15), while also tallying 18 multi-hit and 11 multi-RBI games.

The ace of the pitching staff, Jacobs put together an outstanding junior campaign in the Black & Gold’s starting rotation, racking up an 8-1 record and a 3.25 ERA in 12 starts. The Lumberton native held opponents to a paltry .236 average, and tallied 66 punchouts in 72 innings. Jacobs picked up the win against two top-25 teams this season, earning the victory in the series-clinching win over No. 2 North Greenville, while going seven innings against No. 23 Barton, allowing just five hits and an unearned run to lock up the series, while also being named to the Conference Carolinas All-Tournament Team after going seven innings in the win over Erskine, allowing just four hits and two runs to go along with seven strikeouts.