Garrett Wright and Connar Penrod of Bowling Green State University have been named to the First Team All-East Region by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and Rawlings. This is the first time both players have received this honor.
The ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I All-America teams will be announced on Friday, June 13, before the start of the 2025 NCAA Division I College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. Players selected to a First Team All-Region are eligible for All-America honors. Finalists for the ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I Gold Glove team will be revealed on Monday, June 16 via Twitter by Rawlings Sporting Goods (@RawlingsSports), with winners announced on Wednesday, June 18. The National Pitchers and Position Players of the Year across all divisions will be announced on Monday, June 23.
This marks only the third time in program history that Bowling Green has had multiple First Team recipients in one season and is the first occurrence since 2005. Last year, Nathan Archer was named to the All-Region First Team for BGSU, giving Bowling Green back-to-back seasons with a First Team honoree for the first time since 2005 and 2006.
“Connar and Garrett had outstanding seasons for us,” said head coach Kyle Hallock. “Both performed at an elite level at their respective positions and it is a great sign of respect for them to be recognized as being the best in our part of the country. For Connar, it’s a great and fitting way for him to go out as a senior and cement his legacy as a Falcon. For Garrett, it adds to an already impressive resume that will ultimately go down as one of the best to ever do it at BGSU.”
Wright played in 54 games during his senior season—more than any other player on his team—and reached base in all but two contests. He finished with a .406 batting average, leading all Mid-American Conference (MAC) players by hitting above .400. His .513 on-base percentage also led MAC hitters who posted an OBP over .500 this season. Wright broke three school records: single-season doubles (20), single-season hit-by-pitch (28), and career hit-by-pitch (49). He added eight home runs, four triples, scored 60 runs, collected 82 hits—tied for fifth most in program history—and posted a .991 fielding percentage while playing five different positions.
Penrod served as relief pitcher throughout his record-breaking season. He was named First Team All-MAC after becoming the only pitcher nationally with at least five wins, twelve saves or more, and an ERA under two runs per game at regular season’s end. Penrod set Bowling Green’s single-season saves record with twelve—leading both his conference and ranking tenth nationally—and ended his career fourth all-time at BGSU with thirteen total saves. His earned run average stood at 1.65; he allowed just five runs across twenty-two appearances from the bullpen while striking out thirty-three batters over twenty-seven innings pitched.
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