USA TODAY High School Sports is proud to announce the American Family Insurance ALL-USA Connecticut Baseball Team. Players were selected based on their athletic achievements from the 2016-17 season.
For the complete list of American Family Insurance ALL-USA state teams, click here.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Garrett Walker, Foran (Milford)
After a 1-11 start, Walker somehow rallied his troops and captured the most unlikely state championship in Connecticut history. The Lions (12-13) won six of eight games to earn (via tiebreaker) the final seed in the 32-team Class L tournament, then reeled off five more wins to capture the program’s first crown and become the lowest-seeded team to ever win a Connecticut state title in any sport.
FIRST TEAM
Player of the Year
Ben Casparius, P, Staples (Westport), 6-2/205, Sr.
The two-way standout and North Carolina commit led the Wreckers to a Class LL state championship over top-seeded Amity. Casparius went 5-2 on the mound with a 2.22 ERA and 85 strikeouts in 47.1 innings, while hitting .484 with 10 home runs and 37 RBI.
Jared Wetherbee, P, Avon Old Farms, 5-11/185, Sr.
Michael Burrows, P, Waterford, 6-2/180, Jr.
Patrick Winkel, C, Amity (Woodbridge), 6-2/190, Jr.
Luis Guerrero, INF, Loomis Chaffee (Windsor), 5-11/180, Sr.
Aaron Sabato, INF, Brunswick (Greenwich), 6-3/215, Jr.
Luke Broadhurst, INF, Stafford, 6-1/165, Sr.
Dillon Lifrieri, INF, Wilton, 6-1/190, Jr.
Jimmy Sullivan, OF, Wethersfield, 6-4/195, Sr.
Austin White, OF, Portland, 5-11/165, Sr.
Chad Knight, OF, Staples (Westport), 6-0/205, So.
SECOND TEAM
Thomas Girard, P, Avon Old Farms, 5-11/170, Sr.
Max Scheps, P, Amity (Woodbridge), 6-0/180, Sr.
Cooper Thompson, P, Morgan (Clinton), 6-4/200, Sr.
Colton Bender, C, Lyman Memorial (Lebanon), 5-10/170, Sr.
Eddie McCabe, INF, Norwalk, 6-2/170, Sr.
Matthew Bonvicini, INF, Holy Cross (Waterbury), 6-2/245, Sr.
Casey Brown, INF, Darien, 6-6/230, Sr.
Will Coughlin, INF, Lewis Mills (Burlington), 6-2/205, Jr.
Eddie Sweeney, OF, Daniel Hand (Madison), 6-0/175, Jr.
Mike Lisinicchia, OF, Westhill (Stamford), 6-0/195, Sr.
Andrew Gorham, OF, Cheshire Academy, 6-4/220, Sr.
