Baseball Announces 2024 Team Awards

Seven Lions earned accolades this year

NEW YORK — Columbia baseball head coach Brett Boretti has announced the 2024 team awards that consist of Most Valuable Player, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, the Mr. Hustle Award, the Joseph Allen Award, and the Core Values Award.

Columbia went 26-18 (17-4) this year and captured its 16th Ivy League title. The Lions have now won seven Ivy League titles under Boretti, with six of them coming since 2012. The 17 conference wins in 2024 tied a program record.

Lou Gehrig Co-Most Valuable Players: Griffin Palfrey (INF/RHP) and Jack Cooper (1B)

Palfrey, a Vancouver, B.C., native and team captain, had a team-high .380 batting average, also good for third in the Ivy League. On April 27, Palfrey hit Columbia's 73rd home run of the year and set a new program single-season record that was previously broken last season. Palfrey's 49 RBIs were the third-most in the conference. He ended the season riding a 16-game hitting streak and led the team with 13 multi-RBI games.

Palfrey earned First and Second Team honors as an infielder and utility player, respectively. He made 13 appearances on the mound and pitched to a 2.25 ERA.

Cooper's 16 home runs this year ranked second in the conference and were the most on the team. Cooper's 59 RBIs in 2024 left him three shy of tying the program single-season record and five from tying the Ivy League single-season mark. The Edwardsville, Illinois native had six games with five or more runs batted in this season. Cooper earned All-Ivy League Honorable Mention recognition.

Cooper was the first Lion ever to be named NCAA National Player of the Week (March 5), received D1 Baseball Player of the Week, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Player of the Week, and was named to Baseball America's NCAA Week 3 Standouts list following a historic series vs. Marist in early March in which he was 9-for-12 (.750 BA) with four home runs and 15 RBIs.

Cy Young: Derek Yoo (RHP)

Yoo had the fourth-most Ivy League innings thrown this year among conference pitchers (43.1). After starting just one career game ahead of the season, the righty made seven starts in league play and pitched seven innings in four of them. The Los Angeles, California native allowed one earned run or fewer in five appearances this season. Yoo was named All-Ivy League Honorable Mention.

Rookie of the Year: Eric Jeon (3B)

Jeon slashed .320/.391/.523 through 42 games with 49 hits (19 for extra bases). He had 92 assists and turned 12 double plays in the field. The Fullerton, California, native recorded a pair of four-hit games and three four-RBI performances this season. He was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week twice (April 8 and April 29) and earned All-Ivy League Second Team honors.

Mr. Hustle Award: Griffin Palfrey (INF/RHP)
The Mr. Hustle Award exemplifies a player who always displays the most overall hustle on the field in practice and games.

Palfrey also received the Mr. Hustle Award last season.

Joseph Allen Award: Joe Sheets (RHP)
The Joseph Allen Award is presented annually to a member of the team who has made the greatest contribution in terms of inspirational leadership, sportsmanship, college loyalty, and service as a player.

Sheets was a major contributor to Columbia having the second-lowest Ivy League ERA in the conference. Sheets' .207 opponent batting average in league play ranks fourth. Sheets surrendered just one home run to Ivy League hitters, which is tied for a conference-best mark.

Sheets earned three straight victories over Penn, Dartmouth, and Yale earlier this year in which the Wilmington, Delaware, native went more than five innings and allowed one earned run or fewer in each start. The junior captain earned All-Ivy League First Team honors and is a member of the inaugural Lou Gehrig Community Impact Team.

Core Values Award: Cole Hage (DH)
The Core Values Award is presented to the player that upholds the Columbia Baseball core values (family, character, passion, pride, and presence) more than any other player.

Hage was named to the All-Ivy League First Team for the third straight season in 2024. The senior captain ranked in the top five among Ivy League hitters in slugging percentage, on-base percentage, OPS, runs scored, home runs, and hit by pitches. His double in the second inning of the series finale against Princeton in May set a new single-season program record as well, giving the Lions 119 on the year.

Hage led the team in walks (27) and was second on the team in home runs (13). The Fargo, North Dakota, native had a team-high 35-game reached base streak earlier this year. Hage is also Columbia's Academic All-Ivy recipient.

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Players Mentioned

#17 Griffin Palfrey: INF/RHP; 5' 11"; Sophomore; Columbia College

#8 Jack Cooper: INF; 6' 1"; Senior; General Studies

#26 Cole Hage: 1B/OF; 6' 3"; Senior; Columbia College

#17 Griffin Palfrey: INF/RHP; 5' 11"; Junior; Columbia College

#24 Joe Sheets: RHP; 6' 2"; Junior; Columbia College

#30 Derek Yoo: RHP; 6' 1"; Senior; Columbia College

#2 Eric Jeon: INF; 5' 10"; First Year; Columbia College

Players Mentioned

#17 Griffin Palfrey
: 5' 11"; Sophomore; Columbia College
: INF/RHP

#8 Jack Cooper
: 6' 1"; Senior; General Studies
: INF

#26 Cole Hage
: 6' 3"; Senior; Columbia College
: 1B/OF

#17 Griffin Palfrey
: 5' 11"; Junior; Columbia College
: INF/RHP

#24 Joe Sheets
: 6' 2"; Junior; Columbia College
: RHP

#30 Derek Yoo
: 6' 1"; Senior; Columbia College
: RHP

#2 Eric Jeon
: 5' 10"; First Year; Columbia College
: INF