BOONE, N.C. — After leading Appalachian State University baseball to its most successful Southern Conference Tournament run in 19 years, Appalachian second baseman Wes Hobson, third baseman Hector Crespo and left fielder Chris Alessandria were all named to the all-tournament team following Sunday's championship game.

Hobson led the Mountaineers to three SoCon Tournament wins for the first time since 1991 by hitting a tournament-best .600 (12-for-20) with three doubles, a triple, six walks, three stolen bases and four runs scored in five games. Despite not reaching the championship game, Hobson's 12 hits were the second-most in SoCon Tournament history, behind only the 14 banged out by Wofford's Brandon Waring in 2007. 

Alessandria, who was inserted into ASU's starting lineup just a week prior to the tournament, hit .412 (7-for-17) with a home run, double and six RBI and Crespo, a freshman playing in his first SoCon Tournament, hit .409 (9-for-22) with five RBI, nine runs and several highlight-reel plays at third base.

Appalachian's three all-tournament honorees were tied for the second-most among all teams, behind only the four landed by The Citadel, the tournament champion, and were an all-time high for ASU in 21 SoCon Tournament appearances.

HOBSON RATED N.C.'s NO. 40 DRAFT PROSPECT: Baseball America has rated Hobson as the state of North Carolina's No. 40 prospect in next week's Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

In 206 career games, Hobson hit .362 and set ASU all-time records with 318 hits, 879 at-bats, 223 runs, 78 doubles and 504 total bases. He hit .404 as a senior this season and is all but assured of becoming Appalachian's first SoCon batting champion since Mike Berrier in 1998 (Hobson's closest competitor in this year's SoCon batting race that is still active is College of Charleston's Cole Rakar, who is hitting .369 going into this week's NCAA regionals).

Hobson is one of five Mountaineers that may have his name called during the 2010 MLB Draft, which will be held June 7-9 in Secaucus, N.J. Relief pitcher Chris Patterson, catcher Jerod Faggart, starting pitcher Matt Andress and first baseman David Towarnicky are Appalachian's other potential draftees.

Appalachian has had seven players drafted over the past two years, including a record four in 2009.

FORMER MOUNTAINEERS IN THE PROS: Five of the seven Mountaineers drafted over the past two years are in enjoying productive professional careers.

Relief pitcher Zach Quate has earned a spot on the Florida State League all-star team as a member of the Charlotte Stone Crabs, a high-Class A level affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. In his first full professional season, Quate sports a 0.68 ERA and seven saves in 18 appearances for the Stone Crabs. He has struck out 41 while allowing just two runs, 15 hits and six walks in 26.2 innings. He has surrendered only three earned runs, 30 hits and 10 walks while striking out 75 in 52.2 professional innings since being selected by Tampa Bay in the 14th round of last year's MLB Draft.

Also enjoying success as a closer is Josh Dowdy, who has six saves and a 1.00 ERA in 14 appearances this season for the Delmarva Shorebirds, a low-Class A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles in the South Atlantic League (SAL). He has allowed just two earned runs on 13 hits while fanning 24 in 18 innings of work. Dowdy was selected in the 38th round of last year's draft by the Orioles.

David Rubinstein is in the midst of a breakout season as a member of the West Virginia Power, an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the SAL. The right fielder ranks third in the SAL with a team-best .327 batting average and has 14 doubles, a home run and 19 RBI in 37 games. Rubinstein's likely all-star campaign comes on the heels of him hitting .260 with 20 doubles over his first two professional seasons after being selected by the Pirates in the 11th round of the 2008 MLB Draft. 

Continuing his professional career less than two hours from Boone, Rand Smith is the third former Mountaineer in the SAL as a member of the Greensboro Grasshoppers, a Florida Marlins affiliate. Smith, who was New York-Penn League all-star in his first professional season a year ago, is
hitting .227 for Greensboro but has three doubles, three home runs and a team-best 14 stolen bases this season. He was a 20th-round draft selection by the Marlins last June.

Finally, former ASU pitcher Garrett Sherrill has bounced back from an elbow injury that nearly ended his professional career to make a comeback with the Lake County Fielders of the very competitive independent Northern League. Sherrill, who was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 12th round of the 2008 MLB Draft but was released after suffering a career-threatening elbow injury last year, is 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA in five appearances with Lake County in the Northern League, which is composed mainly of professional baseball veterans.

Additionally, former ASU catcher Andrew Franco, who went undrafted following an injury-plagued senior campaign in 2008, is making waves with the Traverse City Beach Bums of the independent Frontier League. Franco, who hit .347 with four home runs and 22 RBI after signing with the Beach Bums late last season, has scored four runs in four games on the young 2010 Frontier League campaign.

CURRENT MOUNTAINEERS MOVE ON TO SUMMER BALL: Headlined by catcher Jeremy Dowdy, who will play in the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League, 20 Mountaineers have dispersed across the east coast to play in various wood-bat leagues this summer.

The Cape Cod League is by far the most recognizable and talent-laden of the dozens of NCAA-endorsed summer leagues. In 2009, 217 major-league players were Cape Cod League alums. Dowdy, who will play for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, is the fourth Mountaineer in four years to play in the Cape. Matt Andress pitched for the then-Hyannis Mets in 2008 and Garrett Sherrill (Hyannis) and Jason Rook (Cotuit Kettlers) played in the CCBL in '07.

Sixteen of the 20 Mountaineers will play in the Carolina-Virginia Collegitae, Coastal Plain and Southern Collegiate Baseball Leagues, which are based mainly in North Carolina.

A full list of ASU players and their summer teams is below.

Cape Cod Baseball League
Jeremy Dowdy — Hyannis Harbor Hawks

Carolina-Virginia Collegiate League
Derek Brown — Kernersville Bulldogs
Jordan Jessup — Kernersville Bulldogs
Zach Joyce — Kernersville Bulldogs
Josh Zumbrook — Kernersville Bulldogs

Coastal Plain League
Ryan Arrowood — Forest City Owls
Ryne Frankoff — Asheboro Copperheads
Seth Grant — Gastonia Grizzlies
Nathan Hyatt — Forest City Owls
Daniel Kassouf — Thomasville Hi-Toms
Sammy Lett — Asheboro Copperheads

Connie Mack (American Amateur Baseball Congress)
Hector Crespo — Florida Legends

Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League
Tyler Jackson — Southern Ohio Copperheads

Southern Collegiate Baseball League
Kurt Frisbee — Statesville Owls
William Head — Statesville Owls
Will Helms — Lake Norman Copperheads
Tyler Moore — Statesville Owls
Tyler Tewell — Lake Norman Copperheads
Tyler Zupcic — Lake Norman Copperheads

Sunbelt Baseball League
David Port — Atlanta Crackers