PITMAN --- William Paterson senior outfielder Dan Carter (Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield) has been named the New Jersey Athletic Conference Bill Dioguardi Baseball Player of the Year for the 2022 season. Rowan University junior Eli Atiya (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West) and Kean University fifth-year pitcher Justin Diefenbach (Barnegat, NJ/Barnegat) share NJAC Baseball Co-Pitcher of the Year honors.

The College of New Jersey senior Chris Cassini (Pipersville, PA/Central Bucks East) earns the Fireman of the Year honor, which is awarded to the conference's top relief pitcher. Kean freshman Kyle Adorno (Clark, NJ/Arthur L. Johnson) picked up Rookie of the Year honors.

Their selections highlighted the 36-member 2021 NJAC Baseball all-conference team which was announced on May 4. All selections were made via a vote of the league's 10 head coaches and were based on conference-only statistics.

Carter led William Paterson to a 26-13 regular season overall record and 12-6 in NJAC play. He ranked in the top five in the NJAC in six statistical categories, leading all players in conference-only batting average (.494), conference-only hits (38), and conference-only RBI (32). He slugged .714 to rank second in the NJAC and was also second in the NJAC with eight doubles in conference play. He sported a .529 on-base percentage in league action to rank third and was also tied for fourth with three home runs against NJAC opponents.

Diefenbach went 3-0 on the mound for Kean in NJAC play, earning wins over Rutgers-Camden, Rutgers-Newark, and TCNJ. Diefenbach posted the conference's best ERA (0.65) and led all NJAC pitchers by limiting opposing batters to a scant .146 average against him by allowing a league-low 14 hits. The graduate student sports a career 3.40 ERA and 11 wins during his time in Union.

Atiya earns the conference's top pitcher award for the second straight year as the lefty went 4-0 in NJAC action with wins over Montclair State, Rutgers-Camden, TCNJ, and William Paterson. He was tied for the most wins among NJAC pitchers in conference action (4), and ranked third in conference-only ERA (1.24) and conference-only strikeouts (31). Atiya owns a 1.41 career ERA and is 16-2 overall during his time in Glassboro.

Cassini was voted the league's top closer after posting a 1.69 ERA in eight appearances, picking up a win and two saves. He struck out 23 in 16.0 innings pitched to rank eighth among all NJAC pitchers – starters and relievers – in conference-only whiffs. He earned the save in the Lions' upset of No. 14 Kean, tossing two complete innings and not allowing a single hit.

Adorno, a two-time NJAC Rookie of the Week, earns the top rookie honor for the year after leading Kean to a 29-11 overall record and 12-6 in NJAC play. The freshman ranked seventh among all NJAC players with a .410 conference-only batting average. He was also tied for third with 32 hits and tied for fourth with 22 runs scored against NJAC opponents.

William Paterson head coach Mike Lauterhahn was named the Jeff Albies NJAC Coach of the Year by his peers. Lauterhahn led the 2022 Pioneers to a 26-13 overall record and 12-6 league mark. Now in his 15th year in Wayne, Lauterhahn has guided the Pioneers 319 victories and now 11 NJAC tournament appearances. 
 

BILL DIOGUARDI PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Dan Carter, William Paterson
CO-PITCHERS OF THE YEAR:  Eli Atiya, Rowan & Justin Diefenbach, Kean
FIREMAN OF THE YEAR:  Chris Cassini, TCNJ
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:  Kyle Adorno, Kean
JEFF ALBIES COACH OF THE YEAR:  Mike Lauterhahn, William Paterson
FIRST TEAM
Name	Year	Pos.	School	Hometown/High School
Eli Atiya*	JR	P	Rowan	Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill West
Justin Diefenbach+	GR	P	Kean	Barnegat, NJ/Barnegat
Anthony Guarino+	GR	C	Montclair State	Hackensack, NJ/St. Mary's (Rutherford)
Peter Cosentino*	SR	1B	Montclair State	Whitehouse Station, NJ/Hunterdon Central
Miles Feaster	JR	2B	Montclair State	Lanoka Harbor, NJ/Lacey Township
Colin Lombardo	SR	3B	William Paterson	Edison, NJ/Edison
Chris Curcio	JR	SS	Rowan	Montvale, NJ/Pascack Hills
Dan Carter	SR	OF	William Paterson	Bloomfield, NJ/Bloomfield
Ryan Murphy*	JR	OF	Rowan	Reading, PA/Wilson
Ricky Voss	SR	OF	NJCU	Eatontown, NJ/Monmouth Regional
Jorden Jurkiewicz	FR	DH	Montclair State	Forked River, NJ/Lacey Township
Sam Nieves	SO	UT	Stockton	South Plainfield, NJ/South Plainfield
SECOND TEAM
Name	Year	Pos.	School	Hometown/High School
Ben Amon	JR	P	TCNJ	Princeton, NJ/Princeton
Patrick Cuccurullo	JR	P	Montclair State	Scotch Plains, NJ/Scotch Plains-Fanwood
Josh Jackson	SR	C	Kean	Neptune City, NJ/Monmouth Regional
Carson Weis+	GR	1B	William Paterson	River Vale, NJ/Pascack Valley
Jake Lutz	SO	2B	William Paterson	River Vale, NJ/Pascack Valley
Brian Baranok	SO	3B	Ramapo	Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne
Jason Moore	SR	SS	Montclair State	West Chester, PA/Unionville
Kyle Adorno	FR	OF	Kean	Clark, NJ/Arthur L. Johson
Philip Mahlik~	SR	OF	Kean	Bernardsville, NJ/Bernards
Chris Suleski	SR	OF	Rutgers-Newark	Rockaway, NJ/Morris Hills
Patrick Defeciani	SO	DH	Rowan	Congers, NY/Clarkstown North
Steve Yelin*~	SR	UT	William Paterson	River Edge, NJ/River Dell
HONORABLE MENTION
Collin Kiernan	SR	P	Kean	Verona, NJ/Verona
Dylan Taliaferro	SR	P	Kean	Neptune, NJ/Neptune
Hunter Wroniuk	SR	C	Rowan	Williamstown, NJ/Williamstown
Jack Murphy	JR	1B	Rutgers-Camden	West Deptford, NJ/West Deptford
Tyler Cannon	JR	2B	Rowan	Clayton, NJ/Gloucester Catholic
Joe Norton+%	SR	3B	Montclair State	Cranford, NJ/Cranford
Brett Hilsheimer	FR	SS	Kean	Holmdel, NJ/Holmdel
Joey Cruciata	SR	OF	TCNJ	Oakland, NJ/Indian Hills
Tucker Elder	FR	OF	Stockton	Ewing, NJ/Ewing
Vinnie Martin	SR	OF	William Paterson	Lodi, NJ/Bergen Catholic
Sean Donaghue^	JR	DH	Ramapo	Marlboro, NJ/Marlboro
Josh Hernandez	JR	UT	NJCU	Lake Worth, FL/Middlesex CC
Key: *  First Team All-Conference 2021 ^ Second Team All-Conference 2021 + Honorable Mention 2021 ~ Second Team All-Conference 2019 % Honorable Mention 2017