CLEARWATER, Fla. - Louisville third baseman Chris Dominguez became just the second player in BIG EAST history to repeat as BIG EAST Player of the Year as he took home the conference’s top individual honor Monday in advance of the 2009 BIG EAST Baseball Championship at Bright House Field.

Louisville pitcher Justin Marks was chosen as BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year, while Connecticut outfielder George Springer was tabbed as the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year. USF head coach Lelo Prado was named the BIG EAST Coach of the Year.

Dominguez is the first player to win the BIG EAST Player of the Year honor in consecutive seasons since Notre Dame’s Steve Stanley won in 2001 and 2002. Dominguez shared the honor with Cincinnati’s Josh Harrison in 2008.

Dominguez led Louisville to its best regular season in school history as the Cardinals went 40-14 and captured the BIG EAST regular-season title for the first time. He finished the regular season as Louisville’s leader in home runs (21), RBIs (75) and stolen bases (17). He led the BIG EAST in total bases (158) and was second in the conference in home runs, RBIs and slugging percentage (.721). He capped the regular season by hitting home runs in each game of the Cardinals’ doubleheader sweep of USF, which gave Louisville the outright regular-season championship.

Marks becomes the second Louisville player to be named BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year in the last three seasons, joining 2007 winner Zack Pitts. Marks finished the regular season as the BIG EAST’s only nine-game winner, going 9-2 with a 3.47 earned-run average that ranks third in the conference. He struck out a BIG EAST-leading 106 batters and walked just 27 in 85.2 innings and went 7-1 in nine starts against BIG EAST competition.

Springer becomes the first Connecticut player to be named BIG EAST Rookie of the Year after he led the Huskies in nearly every offensive category. Springer hit .360 with 16 home runs and 56 RBIs to help Connecticut to a 33-23 regular season and a 14-13 mark in BIG EAST play. He ranked third in the BIG EAST in slugging (.701), fourth in home runs and runs scored (71), and seventh in total bases (138).

Prado becomes a first-time winner of the BIG EAST Coach of the Year award after he helped USF to a second-place finish in the regular-season standings. The Bulls finished the regular season with a 32-23 overall record and an 18-9 mark in the BIG EAST, improving by four places from last year’s sixth-place finish. It is the fifth conference coach of the year honor for Prado, who was the 2002 Conference USA Coach of the Year while serving as head coach at Louisville and was the Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year three times while head coach at Division II Tampa.

In addition to announcing the winners of the major awards, the conference also presented the All-BIG EAST First, Second and Third Teams at the opening ceremonies.

2009 BIG EAST CONFERENCE BASEBALL AWARDS

BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Chris Dominguez, 3B, Louisville (Jr., Miami, Fla.)

BIG EAST PITCHER OF THE YEAR

Justin Marks, LHP, Louisville (Jr., Owensboro, Ky.)

BIG EAST ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

George Springer, OF, Connecticut (Fr., New Britain, Conn.)

BIG EAST COACH OF THE YEAR

Lelo Prado, USF

ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM

Pos.      Player                        School                Cl           Hometown

P          Justin Marks *              Louisville              Jr.          Owensboro, Ky. 

P          Keith Cantwell              Seton Hall            Sr.          Tinton Falls, N.J.

P          Randy Fontanez           USF                    So.          Oviedo, Fla.

P          Jarryd Summers            West Virginia       So.          Sharpsville, Pa.

C          Tobias Streich              West Virginia       So.          Johnsonburg, Pa.

1B         Tim Morris                   St. John’s            Jr.          Villanova, Pa.

2B         Chris Sedon                 Pittsburgh            Jr.          Plains, Pa.

3B         Chris Dominguez           Louisville              Jr.          Miami, Fla.

SS         Jedd Gyorko                West Virginia       So.          Morgantown, W.Va.

OF        George Springer           Connecticut         Fr.          New Britain, Conn.

OF        A.J. Pollock                  Notre Dame         Jr.          Hebron, Conn.

OF        Justin Parks                 West Virginia        Sr.          Columbus, Ohio

DH        Chris Affinito                Seton Hall            Sr.          East Brunswick, N.J.

* unanimous selection

ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM

Pos.      Player                        School                Cl           Hometown

P          John Folino                  Connecticut         Sr.          Quincy, Mass.

P          Thomas Royse             Louisville             So.          Lexington, Ky.

P          Cole Johnson               Notre Dame        So.          Hudson, Ohio

P          Sean Black                   Seton Hall            Jr.          Mount Laurel, N.J.

C          Trey Manz                   USF                    Sr.          Columbus, Ga.

1B         Andrew Clark               Louisville              Jr.          Carmel, Ind.

2B         Vince Belnome             West Virginia        Jr.          Coatesville, Pa.

3B         Mike Spina                   Cincinnati             Sr.          Newberry, Fla.

SS         Jeremy Barnes             Notre Dame         Sr.          Garland, Texas

OF        Lance Durham              Cincinnati             Jr.          Forest Park, Ohio

OF        Phil Wunderlich            Louisville             So.          Chicago, Ill.

OF        Matt Smedberg            Seton Hall            Sr.          Rockaway, N.J.

DH        Erick Fernandez            Georgetown        So.          Hialeah, Fla.

ALL-BIG EAST THIRD TEAM

Pos.      Player                        School                Cl           Hometown

P          Matt Singer                 Seton Hall            Jr.          Bayonne, N.J.

P          Derrick Stultz               USF                    So.          Tampa, Fla.

P          Chris Enourato             West Virginia        Jr.          Bridgeport, W.Va.

P          Billy Gross                    West Virginia        Jr.          Frederick, Md.

C          Danny Benedetti          St. John’s            Sr.          Long Beach, Calif.

1B         Todd Brazeal                USF                    Fr.          Tampa, Fla.

1B         Jaren Mathews             Rutgers              So.          Teaneck, N.J.

2B         Adam Duvall                 Louisville              Jr.          Louisville, Ky.

3B         Dan DiBartolomeo         West Virginia       So.          Margate, N.J.

OF        Junior Carlin                 USF                    So.          Riverview, Fla.

OF        Brian Kemp                  St. John’s            Jr.          East Rockaway, N.Y.

OF        Jimmy Parque              St. John’s            Jr.          Pacifica, Calif.

OF        Austin Markel               West Virginia        Sr.          Elizabethville, Pa.