by Ben Harris

Headlining the best recruiting class in the history of the program, Nick Dunn and Marty Costes earned Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American nods from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper on Wednesday.

The most potent bats in the lineup, Dunn and Costes were mainstays in the heart of the order for the Terps. And their numbers back it up.

Slashing .300/.382/.397, Dunn led the team in batting average as one of two Terps to start every game this season. This consistency was apparent early and often, as the freshman second baseman reached ase safely in each of the Terps’ first 20 games on the year, and posted the club’s longest hitting streak (13 games). His 13 multi-hit games tied for most on the team. Dunn finished the season one off the team lead with 39 runs scored, and led the club with 68 hits and 16 doubles. He hit more two-baggers and scored more runs than any other Big Ten freshman.

Just three weeks into the season, Dunn made his mark in the Keith LeClair Classic earning both Big Ten Player and Freshman of the Week honors after hitting .643 with nine hits and four RBIs. No Big Ten freshman had taken home both awards in a single week since 2013, and he became the first Terp to earn multiple Big Ten weekly honors at one time. He also became Maryland’s first conference Freshman of the Week in over a year since Kevin Smith won it in February 2015.

Where Dunn provided the reliability, Costes supplied the muscle. After playing himself into the starting lineup a few weeks into the season, Costes excelled. His power numbers—.479 slugging percentage, nine home runs, 37 runs batted in—were not only best on the team, but they led all Big Ten freshmen. Costes took home two Freshman of the Week awards a month apart in April and May.

Two weeks ago, both Dunn and Costes were named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team. Dunn was also the second baseman on the All-Big Ten Third Team.