Henderson State's Nick Vanthillo has been named to the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings All-American First-Team.

Vanthillo becomes the first player in HSU history to earn First-Team All-ABCA honors and only the second player to earn ABCA All-American. Cody Deal was a third-team selection in 2005.

The junior relief pitcher holds the Henderson State single-season and career record for saves.

The Belgium native has 13 saves this season and has made 26 appearances and also sports a 6-1 record with a 1.49 ERA.

In 42.1 innings of work he has struck out 41 batters with offenses struggling having just a .181 batting average.

The lone representative from the Great American Conference, Vanthillo has allowed just one earned run in the last 24 innings of work.

The ABCA All-America team was first recognized in 1949 and now features nine divisions. The first ABCA NCAA Div. II All-America team was recognized in 1969. 

Established in 1945, the ABCA is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. Its over 6,600 members represent all 50 states and 23 countries.