OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Three members of the 2020 Johnson County Community College baseball team received postseason honors from JUCO Baseball Blog. Sophomore slugger Brady Slavens was named the National Player of the Year by JBB. Freshman outfielder Quinton Hall was selected as a first-team All-American and freshman pitcher Jay Long earned honorable mention All-America honors. All three were key performers to help the Cavaliers to a 20-3 record and top-10 national ranking when the season was stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his first season at Johnson County, Slavens was on pace for a historic season. He was batting .507 (38-for-75) and led the NJCAA with 14 home runs and 47 RBIs before the season was cut short after just 23 games. He also produced nine doubles, two triples scored 25 runs, 13 multiple-hit games and 12 multiple-RBI games. Twenty five of his 38 hits (66%) went for extra bases and he had more homers than singles (13). Slavens led the conference in hits, home runs and RBIs and ranked third in doubles. He was chosen the KJCCC Player of the Week in three consecutive weeks, earning the honor in weeks 3, 4 and 5.
Slavens signed with the University of Arkansas earlier this spring however he is eligible for the MLB Draft this summer, and was recently ranked as the No. 20 junior college prospect by Prep Baseball Report. Slavens came to JCCC after playing his freshman year at Wichita State University.
Hall started in 21 games this spring and batted .462 (30-for-65) with seven doubles, two triples, six home runs, 32 runs scored and 23 driven in. He also drew 17 walks and stole five bases. Hall collected 10 multiple-hit games and seven multiple-RBI games. He ranked ninth in the conference in batting average, tied for sixth in hits, tied for second in runs, tied for ninth in doubles and tied for fourth in home runs. Nationally, he tied for seventh in runs and 23rd in home runs. Hall got off to a really shot start to his collegiate career in his first week, hitting .714 (10-for-14) with two doubles, two triples, a home run, eight runs and eight RBI, which earned him the conference player of the week honor.
Long made seven appearances on the hill, all in relief. He was 1-0 with an earned run average of 1.31, with 34 strikeouts in 20.2 innings of work. He allowed just five runs, three earned, with six walks. His five runs allowed tie for the fourth fewest allowed in a season at JCCC, and his three earned runs tie for eighth in a season.