MAHOMENT, IL - Denison rising senior
Eric Colaco (Richfield, OH/Revere) was selected as the 2024 Prospect League Mike Schmidt Player of the Year after a league-wide vote of the managers.
Colaco, who earned the 2024 NCAC Player of the Year for the second-consecutive season, the 2024 D3baseball.com Player of the Year honor, and first-team All-America honors by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and D3baseball.com, was also named the Prospect League Roland Hemond Pro Prospect of the Year, announced last week, for his work with the Chilliocthe Paints.
The Richfield, Ohio native earned the league's player of the year honor after he led the Prospect league in extra-base hits (23), was second in total bases (103) and batting average (.396), third in runs scored (53) and slugging percentage (.628), fourth in home runs (7) and runs batted in (46), fifth in hits (65) doubles (15) and stolen bases (38), and sixth in on-base percentage (.462).
Across 43 games with the Paints, Colaco batted .396 with 65 hits, 53 runs, 15 doubles, one triple, seven home runs, and 46 runs batted in. He also recorded 24 walks and stole 38 bases with a 1.090 on-base + slugging percentage.
Colaco recorded a season-high 14-game hit streak between June 18 and July 8, hitting .482 with 27 hits, six doubles, four home runs, 22 RBIs, 24 runs scored. He slugged .814 during that stretch, had an on-base percentage of .515 and went 12-12 in stolen bases.
This is the second-consecutive season that a Paints player has earned the league's top individual award, after Tim Orr took home the honor last season. Chillicothe's Ronnie Dawson was named Player of the Year in 2014 and Jeff Holm eanred the award in 2010.
ABOUT THE CHILLICOTHE PAINTS
The Chillicothe Paints are a member of the top collegiate wood bat league in the country, The Prospect League. The Chillicothe Paints, the charter member of The Prospect League since 2009, make their home at V.A. Memorial Stadium.
ABOUT THE PROSPECT LEAGUE
The Prospect League is a premier Midwestern wood-bat collegiate summer baseball league with 18 teams across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania. The League provides college players with a professional setting with excellent competition and high-quality facilities while delivering exciting baseball action and affordable all-ages entertainment to its communities. In 2023, the League achieved a new attendance record and led all collegiate summer baseball in growth. Known as the Central Illinois Collegiate League from 1963-2008, the Prospect League has more than 60 years of proud tradition as one of the original and most recognizable summer leagues. The League's rich history includes Hall of Famers, NCAA and World Series Champions, nearly 200 alumni in Major League Baseball, and more than 800 professional players. For more information visit
www.prospectleague.com and follow on social media @prospectleague.