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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

