Belmont University’s Dylan Craig has been named Atlantic Sun Freshman of the year.

The former Baylor standout was named to the A-Sun second team, the only freshman to make either the first or second team.

“I surprised myself, especially by hitting nine triples,” Craig said from Deland, Fla., where the opening day of conference tournament was rained out Wednesday.

Craig, batting either leadoff or No. 2 most of the year, led Belmont with a .397 average and 85 hits. His nine triples leads the conference and ties the school record, while his 88 hits, third best in the conference, also tied a school record. His batting average currently ranks sixth in the league.

“Dylan has a great deal of baseball ability and he gets the best from what he has,” Baylor coach Gene Etter said. “With such a combination, he is just a really good baseball player. To be named conference freshman of the year is an amazing accomplishment, and I am proud of him.”

Craig, a center fielder, set several first-year goals at Belmont.

“I wanted to start, I wanted to lead off and I wanted to have a positive impact on the team,” he said. “I knew college baseball would be hard but it’s something I really wanted. I have spent a lot of time working on my hitting and in the weight room. I came to school weighing 170 pounds and now I’m up to 185.”Courtney Patrick

Craig had a 26-game hitting streak to open the season and hit .443 over that stretch. He plans to play this summer with the Rockdale A’s out of Atlanta.

Kennesaw State pitcher Kyle Heckathorn, a junior from Ringgold, Ga., was named to the A-Sun second team. Heckathorn had a 4-1 record with 98 strikeouts. He was honored last week by Collegiate Baseball as one of its Louisville Slugger national players of the week. He was accorded the honor when he set a school NCAA Division I-era record by strikout of 15 batters. At one point in that game he struck out seven North Florida batters consecutively.