The Ohio State baseball team had an up and down season in its conference-only schedule, but there were times the team looked like a team that everyone expected to contend for a top-three finish in the league.
One of those reasons had to do with freshman outfielder Kade Kern. During his first season in the lineup, Kern finished the season with a team-high .325 batting average, a .391 on-base percentage, and a .438 slugging percentage. He tallied 12 extra-base hits and drove in 30 runs. Truthfully, he probably elbowed his way into the starting lineup sooner than anyone expected, and for good reason.
Now, for all of Kern’s hard work, he has been named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
An impressive and consistent year from @KadeKern is rewarded by being named a Freshman All-American. #GoBuckeyes
MORE: https://t.co/3hGXqTwo2B pic.twitter.com/x4pDT5iCIE
— Ohio State Baseball (@OhioStateBASE) June 9, 2021
This isn’t Kern’s first award for his make-a-splash 2021 campaign. He was named a second team All-Big Ten, and was also named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. Defensively, he was showed out as well, starting all 42 games in the outfield and committing just one error in 87 chances out in centerfield.
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