June 13, 2018
NOTRE DAME, Indiana — The Notre Dame baseball duo of Matt Vierling and Nick Podkul has been named All-Mideast Region by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Rawlings.
The juniors were both selected in the 2018 MLB Draft to cap stellar junior campaigns. Vierling was picked by the Philadelphia Phillies in the fifth round, while Podkul went to the Toronto Blue Jays as the 206th overall pick.
Hailing from Saint Louis, Missouri, Vierling hit .310 (65-210) with 38 runs and 43 RBI. Vierling, who received second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors in 2018, was one of two Irish players to connect for 10 homers, collecting 19 extra-base hits.
Vierling has started all 166 games throughout his Irish career, batting .300 (194-647) with 92 runs and 114 RBI in his career.
Podkul, a native of Schererville, Ind., received second-team All-ACC honors after batting .312 with eight homers and 24 extra-base hits this past season. Podkul finished the regular season ranked seventh in the ACC with a .439 on-base percentage, recording 35 walks in 2018.
In his three-year career, Podkul has hit .296 (162-548) with 90 runs and 71 RBI.
Vierling and Podkul become Notre Dame’s first all-region selections by the ABCA since 205, when pitcher Ryan Smoter was picked. The Irish last had two selections in 2013, with Trey Mancini and Eric Jagielo earning the accolades.
Notre Dame now totals 35 ABCA All-Mideast Region selections dating back to 1988.