UTICA, N.Y.- The Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League is pleased to announce the selection of Ryan Toohers (Villanova) as the 2018 PGCBL Player of the Year. Toohers played for the Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs during the 2018 season, and becomes the first Mohawk Valley player to win the award during the franchise’s tenure in the league.
Toohers posted one of the most prolific offensive seasons in league history during his time in Little Falls, setting new PGCBL records in runs batted in (57) and total bases (106). In 41 games for the DiamondDawgs, Toohers hit .391 with 40 runs scored, 13 doubles, one triple, and ten home runs. Toohers’ ten home runs tied the PGCBL record, and made him just the third player in league history to hit ten homers in a single season.
With 57 RBIs, Toohers became the first player in league history to drive in more than 50 runs, and broke a two-year old league record set by Joe Genord (South Florida) in 2016. His 106 total bases also made him the first player in the history of the PGCBL to record more than 100 total bases in a season – Utica’s Khalyd Cox (Savannah State) also acheived that milestone with 101 total bases.
On six different occasions during the season, Toohers drove in four or more runs for the DiamondDawgs. Those performances included six RBIs in a 19-15 victory over the Adirondack Trail Blazers on June 21, and two home runs and five RBIs in a 14-1 win over the Saugerties Stallions on July 2. In games where Toohers drove in multiple runs, the DiamondDawgs went 12-0.
League-wide, Toohers finished in the top two of most offensive categories, including batting average, home runs, RBIs, total bases, doubles, extra base hits, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. He won two of the league’s three triple crown categories, only missing out by finishing second in batting average to Dawg teammate Ryan Hernandez (San Jacinto CC). For his efforts, he was a starter in the PGCBL All-Star Game and a First Team All-PGCBL selection at first base.
During his sophomore season at Villanova, Toohers was an everyday presence in the lineup for the Wildcats. The first baseman hit .298 over 48 games, driving in 31 runs with 20 extra base hits. At one point in the season, he reached base in 19 consecutive games, and was honored as a First Team All-Big East selection.