WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. ? Monmouth University pitcher Ryan Buch (Yardley, Pa./Conwell Egan Catholic), the Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year, Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American Team, and an All-Ping Baseball Second-Team Freshman All-American, was named the top prospect in the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League by Baseball America.

Buch sparkled in his freshman campaign, quickly establishing himself as one of the NEC's top starters while providing a terrific one-two combination in the Monmouth rotation along with NEC Pitcher of the Year Brad Brach (Freehold, N.J./Freehold Township).

Sporting an 9-2 record, Buch tied for the league lead in wins, and finished with a 2.44 ERA. The righty, who set an MU freshman win record, finished with 76 strikeouts in 81.0 innings of work, while opponents hit just .223 against him.

Buch joined a long line of Monmouth players - seven in total - honored as NEC Rookie of the Year, the most recent being teammate Rick Niederhaus (Whitehouse Station, N.J./Hunterdon Central) in 2006, who was also tabbed a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball. He was also the lone freshman this season to be rewarded with an all-conference spot, collecting second team accolades.

The Monmouth baseball team won its third NEC title in 2007, while setting a new school record for wins with 36. The Hawks competed in the Tempe Regional at Arizona State Univeristy, dropping a 5-3 decision to the No. 5 national seed Sun Devils in the first game. On the second day, in which Buch started and pitched 6.1 innings, with five strikeouts, the Blue and White fell to Nebraska, 6-5. In both contests, Monmouth had the tying runs in scoring position in the ninth inning.