Lexington Coach Brian Hucks, Catcher Nick Ciuffo Earn State’s Top Honors from SCBCA

Lexington, S.C. – Lexington head baseball coach Brian Hucks has been named the 2013 South Carolina High School Baseball Coach of the Year for all classifications, while senior catcher Nick Ciuffo has been named the South Carolina AAAA State Player of the Year, it was announced by the South Carolina Baseball Coaches Association (SCBCA) on Tuesday. 

Lexington senior left-handed pitcher Josh Reagan and junior center fielder Ryan Brown were also named to the all-state team.

Lexington, which finished the season 28-5, claimed the AAAA state championship when they beat 3rd-ranked Blythewood 4-0 on Friday before 6,240 people at Carolina Stadium in the third game of the best-of-three series.

Hucks is 55-9 in two seasons at Lexington after posting a 258-105 record and winning two AAA state titles (2000 and 2008) in 12 seasons at Brookland-Cayce.  His 14-year coaching record is 313-114, including his 300th victory this spring in a 3-2 win over region-rival South Aiken on April 9.
 
Ciuffo led Lexington in batting average (.468), home runs (5), RBI (33), walks (22), on base percentage (.562) and slugging percentage (.723). Ciuffo, who had a 25-game hitting streak this spring, hit safely in 30 of 33 games and reached base in 32 of 33 overall.  He didn’t have a passed ball and committed just two errors in 240 chances.

Reagan posted an 11-0 record with a 1.13 ERA over 11 starting assignments. He was 18-0 with a 1.08 ERA over his final two seasons. Reagan went 2-0 in the state championship series firing a four-hitter in the Wildcats' 5-2 win in the series opener on May 13, and he fired a three-hitter in Friday's 4-0 championship-game victory. Reagan tossed six complete games and three shutouts while working 68 innings. He allowed 50 hits, struck out 75 and walked only 12, while limiting the opposition to a .200 batting average.

Brown, considered one of the state’s top defensive outfielders, finished 2013 with a .463 batting average while collecting a team-best 50 hits. He scored a team-high 41 runs, drove in 19 runs and led Lexington swiping 17 bases in 18 attempts.

AAAA All-State Team
Nick Ciuffo – Lexington
Josh Reagan – Lexington
Ryan Brown – Lexington
Nic Pappas – Dutch Fork
Jonathan Sabo – West Ashley
Cody Smith – Goose Creek
Jordan Gore – Conway
GK Young – Conway
Grant Holmes – Conway
Taylor Widener – South Aiken
Cory Thompson – Mauldin
Charlie Barnes – Sumter
Thomas Bessinger – Blythewood
Tyler Romanik – Blythewood
Zach Hamilton – Blythewood
Aaron Dahm - Blythewood
Andrew Beckwirth – Blythewood
Gene Cone – Spring Valley
Akeem Bostick – West Florence
Garrett Chapman – West Florence
KJ Woods – Fort Mill
CD Pelham - Lancaster
 
AAAA Player of the Year – Nick Ciuffo – Lexington
Coach of the Year All Classifications – Brian Hucks – Lexington
AAAA Coach of the Year – Barry Mizzell – Blythewood