Phoenix, AZ -- Junior infielder/outfielder Ryan Worley proudly represented Academy of Art University baseball after earning an outfield spot on the 2010 All-PacWest Baseball Second Team. Worley, who wrapped up a stellar season atop the AAU batting order, was the lone Urban Knight to receive an award after the honors were announced by the PacWest Media Office in Phoenix, AZ. The announcement came on Wednesday, May 12, following a vote by the head coaches of the conference.
 
"After his first year at the Academy of Art, to see him turn everything around was great," Head Coach Brian Guinn said. "He did a fantastic job. I wanted to make sure all the coaches are aware of what he accomplished and the work everyone did for him to get to that point. It was a phenomenal turn-around. It's great to see someone get rewarded for working hard and Ryan worked hard every day. Hopefully we will have more guys following in his footsteps next year."

Worley made 20 of his 44 starts in the outfield primarily during the first half of the season and led the Knights in five offensive categories. The junior paced AAU with a .316 batting average, 28 runs scored, 12 doubles, three triples, 69 total bases, and a .457 slugging percentage. In addition, Worley contributed 48 hits, one home run, 19 runs batted in, 14 walks, and 21 stolen bases.

The first homer of Worley's career came in 2010 against PacWest Conference champion Hawaii Pacific on Mar. 19. He also set several other new career-highs this year including three runs scored versus Bethany University on Apr. 17 and four runs batted in against Hawaii-Hilo on Mar. 30. The infielder/outfielder enjoyed two separate six-game hitting streaks during the season which matched his career-best set in 2009.

In terms of the PacWest Conference statistics, Worley ranked second behind teammate Johnathan Robbins in stolen bases (21). Worley finished in a tie for sixth in doubles (12), tied for fourth in triples (3), and 19th in the league in batting average (.316). He also ranked second in stolen bases per game (0.47), fifth in doubles per game (0.27), and tied for fourth in triples per game (0.07).

"Our goal at the beginning to the season was to show the conference that we could steal bases and Ryan subscribed to it right away," Coach Guinn said. "There are still more steals in him just like some of his teammates and it was a blessing to have Assistant Coach Mike Felder on staff so we could really teach smart, aggressive baseball. Every game Ryan got better at stealing bases."

Worley also earned two PacWest Weekly Top 10 Honors this year. His placement on the Second Team is the first PacWest post-season honor for Academy of Art University baseball.

As a team, the Urban Knights finished with 7-40 overall record along with their 3-28 conference record in the program's inaugural PacWest Conference season.

Click here to see the entire 2010 All-PacWest Baseball Team!