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Thursday, July 11, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS
Franz Wagner signs with Michigan for the upcoming season
Guard Franz Wagner will be
joining the University of Michigan
starting
this
upcoming
year.
The 17-year-old was on a dual-
contract with Alba Berlin and SSV
lok Bernau Alba this past year,
deciding between staying overseas
and coming to play in the NCAA.
In the end, he chose the latter,
following the footsteps of his older
brother and former Michigan
forward Moritz Wagner.
Wagner announced his decision
on Saturday via Instagram.
This will be second commitment
the Michigan basketball team has
secured since the hiring of head
coach Juwan Howard. He was
able to keep wing Cole Bajema —
who had initially committed while
John Beilein was head coach —
which leaves the Wolverines with
two more scholarship openings for
the 2019-2020 college basketball
season. Wagner did make an
official visit to Michigan the day
after Beilein’s departure, and
assistant coach Saddi Washington
is the only coach still on staff since
that day.
“We are extremely excited to
announce Franz has committed
to join the University of Michigan
in the fall,” Howard said. “Franz
gives us another talented guard
with
size
who
possesses
a
wonderful basketball IQ and a
growing skillset that could be
impactful for us right away.”
Unlike Bajema who is already
practicing with the team, Wagner
will not arrive on campus to
practice until the fall as he’s
scheduled to play for Germany
in the 2019 under-18 European
Championships in Greece through
August 4th.
Wagner boasted a high shot
percentage, making 52.9 percent
of his shots over 35 games for
Alba Berlin while shooting 50
percent from the field in nine
games for SSV lok Bernau Alba
last year. He primarily came off
of the bench, though, starting
only six games for each team.
Wagner was awarded 2018-2019
Basketball Bundesliga Best Young
Player Award for his efforts in
the BBL finals, where Alba Berlin
finished as runner-up.
Many thought that Howard had
possibly violated an NCAA rule
as he mentioned Wagner’s name
on a radio talk show earlier in
the week. However, sources told
The Daily that Howard did not
commit any NCAA violations in
the process of recruiting Wagner.
This story is developing and will
be updated as The Daily learns more
information. Additional reporting
was done by Ethan Sears and Jorge
Cazares.
AKUL VIJAYVARGIYA
Summer Managing Sports Editor
The standout performers of the 2019 Michigan baseball season
As the baseball team’s 2019
season comes to a close, and
Michigan’s magical run through
the postseason comes to an end,
the Daily presents these awards
to members of Team 153 that
stood out over the course of the
season.
Most
Valuable
Player:
Jordan Brewer
This
one
needs
little
explanation. Brewer was the
backbone of this team all season.
Offensively, he led the team
in batting average, at a .329
clip on the season (even after a
postseason slump), and slugging,
with a slugging percentage of
.557. He stole 25 bases in 29
attempts, the most on the team,
and notched 59 RBI, second-
highest of the Wolverines.
Defensively, Brewer had what
Michigan coach Erik Bakich
called
his
“explosive”
raw
athletic potential on display all
season, throwing runners out at
third base from deep right field
while robbing hits left and right
on the warning track. He notched
12 outfield assists on the season.
He
earned
first-team
All
American
Honors
from
the
College Baseball Foundation as
well as first-team All-Big Ten
and Big Ten Conference Player of
the Year.
Clutch Genes: Tommy Henry
Henry
was
Michigan’s
projected
ace
heading into the
2019 season and
performed as such
during much of
the first half of
the
season,
but
nagging
bicep
tendonitis
saw
him struggle with
his
consistency
down the stretch.
When
it
mattered
most,
though,
the
junior left-hander was practically
untouchable.
In Michigan’s win-or-go-home
contest against No. 1 UCLA in
Game 3 of the super-regional, a
flu-ridden Henry pitched seven
dominant innings, earning the
win in the victory that sent
Michigan to the College World
Series for the first time in 35
years.
In his first College World
Series start, he tossed a 100-
pitch complete-game shutout of
Florida State in what Florida State
coaching legend Mike Martin
described as a “masterpiece.”
And in Game 1 of the College
World
Series
Finals, he tossed
8.1
dominant
innings
in
Michigan’s
only
victory
against
Vanderbilt.
Whether Henry
can
hold
onto
the
lights-out
performance
he
demonstrated
this
postseason
remains to be seen. But when the
Wolverines needed a win, there’s
a reason they turned to Tommy
Henry.
Breakout
Player:
Jeff
Criswell
Criswell was solid out of the
bullpen last year, but he really
came into his own this season
when he transitioned to a starting
role. He finished the season with
the lowest earned run average of
Michigan’s three regular starters
at 2.72 over 17 starts and 106
innings.
He and pitching coach Chris
Fetter spent the entire offseason
working on the transition back
to the starting role in which
Criswell was so effective in high
school, earning him first-team
all-region honors from Rawlings
Perfect Game his senior year
in 2017. He and Fetter worked
mainly on smoothing out his
pitching
motion
and
using
his legs for more power and
endurance.
Their hard work paid off in
spades. Criswell developed his
fastball to the point that Fetter
described it as “major league”
caliber.
He
also
saw
major
growth with his two other
pitches and leaps in his control
and placement, as was on display
in his Apr. 13 start at Ohio State,
the Wolverines’ lone victory over
the Buckeyes this season.
Criswell was also lights-out
in relief throughout much of the
postseason, as Bakich often used
him in high-leverage situations
to account for an often-leaky
bullpen.
Best
Single
Game
Performance:
Jimmy
Kerr
against Texas Tech on June 21
For three years, Kerr was a non-
starter with the occasional bright
spot. But he was so productive
offensively in 2019 that he almost
took Criswell’s title as Breakout
Player. But unlike Criswell, Kerr
found his best success in single-
game bursts.
Most notable was his four-
for-four day against Texas Tech.
Kerr was involved in almost
half of Michigan’s scoring plays,
helping the Wolverines notch
seven of their 15 runs that day.
Kerr himself scored four runs,
had three RBIs, two home runs,
a double and a single.
Kerr also gets an honorable
mention in this category for
a
five-for-five
day
against
Michigan State on March 30 in
which he hit two home runs, two
doubles and a single, scoring five
runs on the day in Michigan’s
16-2 victory over the Spartans.
ABBY SNYDER
Daily Sports Writer
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Michigan coach Juwan Howard has two more scholarship spots left for the 2019-2020 season after signing Franz Wagner.
(Criswell) really
came into his
own this season