RAYNOR NAMED SOUTH ATLANTIC LEAGUE MVP

WILMINGTON, N.C. - Former UNC Wilmington baseball standout John Raynor was named the South Atlantic League's Most Valuable Player for the 2007 season.

Raynor was also named to the league's post season all-star squad after leading the Greensboro Grasshoppers, a minor league affiliate of the Florida Marlins, in seven offensive categories including batting average (.333), runs scored (110), hits, (148), triples (8), walks (66) and stolen bases (54).

The Benson, N.C., native paces the 16-team circuit in runs scored and stolen bases. Raynor threatened to break the league's single-season record for runs in the final weeks of the season, but a hand injury suffered earlier in August curtailed his chase of Jose Leiva's mark of 128 runs in 1983 for the Spartanburg Phillies.

Earlier this month, Baseball America tabbed Raynor as both the league's best base runner and the fastest base runner. He was also honored as the most exciting player in the league.

During his four-year career with the Seahawks, he ranked among the all-time leaders in 13 offensive categories before being drafted in the ninth round by the Florida Marlins in the 2006 draft. He was a two-time first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association honoree and was named to two All-America teams following his senior season. Raynor was also a member of three NCAA tournament teams while in the Port City.

Raynor's MVP award is the first ever for a Seahawk in professional baseball.