Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina put three players on the 2021 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) / Rawlings NCAA Division I Atlantic All-Region teams released on Wednesday. Senior catcher Luke Robinson and junior outfielder Justice Bigbie both collected first-team all-region honors while freshman shortstop Pascanel Ferreras was named to the second team.
 
Bigbie collected the second all-region honor of his career after earning second-team plaudits back in 2019. This year's awards are the first for both Robinson and Ferreras. WCU's three selections are its most in a single season since 2014 when four Catamounts were on the squad.
 
Robinson adds the Atlantic All-Region selection to his postseason accolades that include being named first-team All-Southern Conference and to the SoCon All-Tournament team. The fifth-year senior started all 49 games on the season including 29 behind the plate, posting a career-best .345 batting average with 71 hits including career-bests with 13 doubles and 13 home runs, the latter of which tied him for fifth in the SoCon. The McLeansville, N.C., product led WCU with 29 two-out RBI, finishing the season with 52 runs driven in ranking third in the conference.
 
Elected as a team captain for a second-consecutive season, Robinson was also on the official watch list for the 2021 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year award.
 
Bigbie started all 49 games in left field in earning first-team All-SoCon honors to go along with his all-region accolades. The Chesapeake, Va., native also collected SoCon All-Tournament team accolades after finishing with a team-best 11 hits as he batted .647 in the four games. Bigbie led WCU with 77 base hits including a team-high 15 doubles and was tied for the team lead with a .395 seasonal batting average. Like Robinson, tabbed a team captain for a second-consecutive season, Bigbie earned SoCon Player of the Month honors in February that included the league's first weekly honor.
 
A second-team all-region honoree, Ferreras started all 49 games at shortstop as a true freshman. He earned second-team All-SoCon honors and was named to the 2021 SoCon All-Freshman team after batting .329 with 70 hits including 11 doubles, two triples, and a team-best 16 home runs – the second-most in the SoCon. Ferreras led the SoCon with 133 total bases, posting 21 multiple-hit games with 15 multiple-RBI efforts. Defensively, the Stone Mountain, Ga., product was a part of turning 38 double-plays, tops in the SoCon.
 
Teams were announced in eight regions nationally as voted on by members of the ABCA and the process is led by the ABCA NCAA Div. I All-America Committee, which is chaired by Tommy Raffo of Arkansas State University. ABCA/Rawlings All-Region First Team selections are nominated for ABCA/Rawlings All-America honors which will be announced on Saturday, June 19.
 
In addition to WCU's three selections, Mercer second baseman Garrett Delano and Samford DH Tyler McManus were named first-team Southeast All-Region from the SoCon.
 
The finalists for the ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Div. I Gold Glove Team will be announced via the Rawlings Sporting Goods Twitter on Monday, June 21, and the Gold Glove winners in all divisions will be announced on Wednesday, June 23. In all divisions, ABCA/Rawlings National Pitchers of the Year will be announced on Monday, June 28, followed by ABCA/Rawlings National Position Players of the Year on Wednesday, June 30.
 
Additional Notes:

• This year marks the 29th time since 1977 that WCU had a player on the ABCA Atlantic All-Region squad – and the 14th time that WCU has put multiple players on the honorary squad … It's also the seventh-time that WCU has put three-or-more players on the postseason all-region squad;
• WCU's four selections on the 2014 all-region are the most in a single year all-time for WCU;
• WCU's longest consecutive year streak for landing a player on the ABCA Atlantic All-Region team is 11-straight seasons from 1989 through 1999.

 
WCU's All-Time, ABCA/Rawlings Atlantic All-Region Selections:
1977 – Keith Ebersole (1st), Jerry Reed (2nd), Wayne Tolleson (2nd)
1978 – Wayne Tolleson (1st), Keith Ebersole (2nd)
1980 – Willie Carpenter (1st)
1986 – Pat Riley (2nd)
1987 – Clint Fairey (1st)
1989 – Clint Fairey (1st)
1990 – Grant Brittain (1st)
1991 – Kevin Bellomo (1st), Phillip Grundy (2nd), Matt Raleigh (2nd)
1992 – Joey Cox (1st), Matt Raleigh (1st), Dan Kyslinger (2nd)
1993 – Phillip Grundy (1st), Jason Beverlin (2nd)
1994 – Jason Beverlin (1st), Mike Manning (2nd), Mike Tidick (2nd)
1995 – Jody Henson (1st)
1996 – Alex Tolbert (2nd)
1997 – Alex Tolbert (1st), Jeremy Bruce (2nd), J.P. Burwell (2nd)
1998 – Martin Barrow (2nd), Mark DiFelice (2nd)
1999 – Steve Harris (2nd), Chris Moore (2nd)
2001 – Donovan Minero (1st)
2003 – Alan Beck (2nd)
2004 – Jared Greenwood (1st)
2005 – Steven Strausbaugh (2nd)
2006 – Steven Strausbaugh (2nd)
2007 – Kenny Smith (2nd)
2012 – Ross Heffley (2nd)
2013 – Aaron Attaway (2nd), Tyler White (2nd)
2014 – Adam Martin (1st), Cody Jones (1st), Jacob Hoyle (2nd), Bradley Strong (2nd)
2016 – Bryson Bowman (1st), Matt Smith (2nd)
2017 – Bryson Bowman (1st)
2019 – Matthew Koehler (1st), Justice Bigbie (2nd)
2021 – Justice Bigbie (1st), Luke Robinson (1st), Pascanel Ferreras (2nd)
 
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