Earlier this week the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) announced the 2011 NCAA Division III All-America honorees, which includes University of Redlands' very own senior pitcher Derek Johnson (Canby, OR) as a member of the Second Team. Last season Johnson earned All-Region honors, but this is the four-year veteran's first ABCA All-America nod.

This award follows Johnson's recent selection on the D3baseball.com All-America Third Team. In addition, he was named the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Player of the Year after guiding the Bulldogs to the 2011 conference crown during the program's centennial season.

The ace of the Bulldog staff, Johnson carried the crew by ranking among the elite pitchers in Division III. He finished his final campaign with the second-most victories (13) in the country, trailing Marietta University's Brian Gasser by only one. Johnson also landed among the top five in the nation for strikeouts (107) and innings pitched (106.2).

During the NCAA West Regional Championships, the slinger collected UR's first postseason victory since the 1985 campaign after leading the Bulldogs to a 3-2 decision over Trinity University (TX). In doing so, the senior also picked up his 13th win of the season en route to setting a program record and being named to the NCAA Regional All-Tournament team.

Johnson joins sophomore third baseman Nick Boggan of Cal Lutheran University as the only other ABCA All-America selection from the SCIAC.

In other notable news, senior Jim Schult of Eastern Connecticut State University and Gasser were named the NCAA Division III Co-Players of the Year.

For a complete list of the ABCA All-Americans, please log onto www.abca.org.