WILLIAMSBURG, VA - William and Mary sophomore rightfielder Chris Rahl (Chesapeake, VA/Great Bridge) was named the 2004 CAA Player of the Year, and junior second baseman Will Rhymes (Houston, TX/Lamar) and relief pitcher Bill Bray (Virginia Beach, VA/Ocean Lakes) were named to the All-CAA first and second teams, respectively, tonight at the awards banquet on the eve of the 2004 championship.

Rahl is the first player in school history and the first sophomore to be named the CAA Player of the Year. Rahl finished the regular season batting .400 with 20 home runs and 70 RBIs, and stole 41 bases on 45 attempts. He broke single-season school records in RBIs, runs scored (73), hits (88), stolen bases and total bases (174). He tied single-season records in home runs and triples (8) needing one more of each to break those records. He is the first player in CAA history to record at least 20 home runs and 40 stolen bases in the same season, and was named a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, which is awarded to the top collegiate player in the nation.

Rhymes joins Rahl on the first team after compiling a .387 batting average with seven home runs and 34 RBIs. Rhymes hit all seven of his career-home runs this year, and he had 24 career RBIs entering the 2004 season. His .387 batting average is third in the CAA, and he carried a team-high 22 game hitting streak earlier in the season.

Bray was named to the second team for the second straight season after recording a 4-4 record and a team-best 2.54 ERA. The Tribe’s all-time leader in career saves fanned 81 batters and walked just 12 in 56 and two-thirds innings of work. He has three saves on the year and 10 for his career.

The Tribe (37-18), seeded fourth in the tournament, will face third-seeded Virginia Commonwealth at 3:30 Wednesday afternoon at Brooks Field on the campus of UNC Wilmington. The game will be broadcast both via video and audio on TribeAthletics.com with Paul Ring and Jon Palumbo