Long Beach State University Athletics
Chris Rivera Named NCBWA Freshman All-American
6/13/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
2016 NCBWA Freshman All-American Team 
Long Beach, Calif. - The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) released its Division I Freshman All-America team Monday, with Long Beach State reliever Chris Rivera included as a member of the second team. Rivera finished the year tied for the nation's lead in saves among freshmen with 13; that mark also puts him tied for 14th in the country among all relievers. His 13 saves led the Big West Conference, and only three teams (Long Beach State - 21, Cal Poly - 15, UC Santa Barbara - 14) had more saves than Rivera during the season.
Rivera was second on the Dirtbags with 28 appearances in 2016, compiling a 2-2 record with a 4.60 ERA. The righthander out of Watsonville, Calif. got off to a tremendous start in his first college campaign, working eight scoreless innings in his first seven trips to the mound while racking up six saves. After recording a pair of saves in LBSU's series win at Cal State Fullerton in March, Rivera had recorded 10 saves through the first 23 games of the season.
This is the third consecutive year that the Dirtbags have had a player earn NCBWA Freshman All-America recognition. Chris Mathewson (SP) was a second-team selection last year and Garrett Hampson (SS) was a second-teamer in 2014.
