Moran Named NAIA All-American
KANSAS CITY – Following a record-setting season on the diamond that led to Crossroads League Newcomer and Pitcher-of-the-Year honors for Joe Moran, the senior two-way standout recently added another honor with an Honorable Mention NAIA All-American nod.
Moran is the first NAIA All-American for the Taylor baseball program since Matt Patton in 2018. The All-American nod for Moran is the seventh such award for TU baseball in the last 11 years.
Moran made an immediate impact for the Trojans after transferring in from Anderson University, serving as the team's ace on the mound, while also pacing the squad's offense as a key cog in the lineup.
The senior took 16 starts on the hill for the Purple and Gold, posting a single-season program-record of 111 strikeouts over 84.1 innings of work. Moran finished with a team-leading nine wins to just three losses, held hitters to a .234 average and turned in a 3.09 earned-run average.
The numbers were equally as impressive at the plate, where Moran hit .309 with a .619 slugging percentage and 1.035 OPS over 181 at bats. Moran started 56 of TU's 57 games, led the club with 14 home runs, tallied 26 extra-base hits and also topped the roster with 19 stolen bases.
Moran's work on the field helped Taylor to a 37-20 overall record during the 2021 campaign, giving the Trojans a third-straight full season of at least 37 wins and a 14th-straight year with a winning record.