LATHAM, N.Y. - Two baseball players from the ranks of the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) in Penn State Berks' alumnus Toby Welk and Penn State Harrisburg's Bret Williams have been named to the D3baseball.com 2010's All-Decade First Team.
Welk was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 21st round of the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft as only the second player in NEAC history to be drafted. The standout third baseman was one of the league's most prolific hitters, boasting a collegiate resume that includes a .433 batting average, 241 hits, 53 doubles, 34 home runs, 201 RBIs, and a .768 slugging percentage. Opposing pitchers were often overmatched by Welk as he finished his career with just 31 strikeouts in 558 at-bats.
In his senior season, Welk ranked as one of the top hitters in all of Division III after batting .483 (70-for-145) with 17 doubles, five triples, 13 home runs, 58 RBs, and 56 runs scored. Welk led all of Division III in 2019 in slugging percentage (.938) and RBIs per game (1.49), while ranking second in batting average, third in total bases (136), and fourth in runs scored per game (1.44). He also ranks among the top-10 in the nation for home runs, home runs per game (.33), on-base percentage (.555), and RBIs. He was named the D3baseball.com National Player of the Year and was an All-America First Team selection for the second year in a row.
Following his time at Penn State Berks, Welk made his professional debut in June 2019 with the Aberdeen IronBirds (Short A) of the New York-Penn League. In 48 games with the Ironbirds, Welk hit .344 with 62 hits, four home runs and 28 RBIs en route to being named a New York-Penn League All-Star. He finished the summer with a well-earned promotion to the Delmarva Shorebirds (Full A) of the South Atlantic League where he played in nine games.
Penn State Harrisburg's Bret Williams was selected to the D3baseball.com All-Decade First Team after his outstanding output over the last four seasons. The outfielder was one of just 10 position players to earn first-team all-decade recognition. The trio of all-decade teams and honorable mention picks were compiled from the list of D3baseball.com All-Americans, all-region selections, and record-setting players who competed at least two years during the most recent decade.
During his illustrious three-plus year career, the Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, native has impressed on the national level and rewritten the Penn State Harrisburg record book.
Earlier this spring, Williams earned D3baseball.com Preseason First-Team All-America honors and was named to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's Division III Players to Watch List. Prior to the 2020 season being cut short, the senior was slashing a blistering .472/.525/.887 with an OPS of 1.412. Through just 12 games, he racked up 25 hits, including five home runs and seven doubles, to go along with 17 runs batted in and 14 runs scored. He was named the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Player of the Week in early March.
Following a 2019 campaign that saw him clinch NCAA Division III Statistical Championships in the categories of hits (88), runs (75) and total bases (161), he was named a First-Team All-American by both ABCA/Rawlings and D3baseball.com. Williams was named the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional Player of the Year and First-Team All-Region by the ABCA/Rawlings to go along with a D3baseball.com First-Team All-Region honor. He was named the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) Player of the Year after slashing .431/.514/.789 with an OPS of 1.303, winning the league's batting title, and ranking second in the nation in home runs (18) and RBI (70). Williams was named CAC First-Team All-Conference for the second year in a row after picking up D3baseball.com National Team of the Week and CAC Player of the Week honors earlier in the year.
To this point in his career, Williams has amassed 232 hits, including 98 extra-base knocks, 177 runs scored, 184 RBI, and 430 total bases. He's hit 46 home runs, walked 78 times, and stolen 28 bases, all while slashing .398/.472/.738 with a 1.210 OPS.
The D3baseball.com 2010's All-Decade Team was selected by the D3baseball.com staff, as well as contributors to The Podcast About Division III Baseball.
About NEAC
The North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) has eight NCAA Division III member institutions which include: Gallaudet University, Lancaster Bible College, Morrisville State, Penn College, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks, Penn State Harrisburg, and Wells College. Associate members are Rutgers University – Camden (M Golf), and SUNY Potsdam (M Volleyball). The NEAC has also partnered with the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference in the sports of men's and women's lacrosse and the North Atlantic Conference in men’s tennis and women’s tennis. For more information, visit: www.neacsports.com.