By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The 2020 baseball season hasn't even started yet, and already James Green (East Bethel, Minn.) is being considered among the nation's best.
 
After the year he had a year ago, it's no wonder.
 
Green, who hauled in eight post-season honors a year ago — including ABCA/Rawlings All-America — was one of just two Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference players named to the D3baseball.com Preseason All-American Team, earning Second-Team honors.
 
Saint John's designated hitter Joey Stock was the other MIAC player to earn preseason accolades, being named honorable-mention All-America.
 
Green, who was named the ABCA/Rawlings Midwest Region Pitcher of the Year — as well as earning All-Midwest Region First-Team honors when the ABCA announced its first round of awards — capped a remarkable sophomore year being selected ABCA/Rawlings Third-Team All-American.
 
Along with his three ABCA/Rawlings honors this post-season, Green has been named the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year — not to mention earning First-Team All-MIAC honors for the second straight year; he's earned Third-Team All-America and First-Team All-Midwest Region honors by D3baseball.com; and he's a Google Cloud Academic All-District VI selection.
 
In 10 appearances this season, Green — who helped lead the Cardinals to a second straight MIAC Tournament appearance, and their sixth post-season showing in the last eight years — compiled a near-perfect 8-1 record and a microscopic 1.85 ERA.
 
The sophomore right-hander logged a team-leading 58.1 innings and pitched at least six innings in eight of his nine of his starts this season. Opponents hit just .194 against Green, who accounted for four of the Cardinal pitching staff's six complete games, and boasted a team-high 63 strikeouts — including a career-high 13 against No. 1-ranked Concordia-Chicago on March 22 — and walked just 10 batters.
 
The Cardinals kick off the 2020 season in early March, playing 10 games in Auburndale, Fla. Saint Mary's will open play with a doubleheader against Widener on March 1