Newsday's All-Long Island baseball team 2023

Newsday Player of the Year: Josh Knoth, Patchogue-Medford, P, Sr.

Knoth dominated opposing hitters like no one else in Long Island history.

The righthander was 7-0 and allowed a total of five hits, all singles, in 41 2⁄3 innings this season. He struck out 109 batters, a single-season program record, and only walked 15. He allowed one run for an  ERA of 0.17.

“There’s been great pitchers on Long Island through the years and we have never seen anything like this kind of dominance,” Patchogue-Medford coach Anthony Frascogna said. “It was fascinating. He was on such a higher level than the hitters.”

Knoth, an Ole Miss commit, threw a perfect game and struck out 19 batters against Riverhead on May 2, the second perfect game of his high school career. He also shared in the third combined no-hitter of his career after he was removed due to pitch count limitations.

He had four shutouts and recorded double-digit strikeouts in all seven of his starts. For his accomplishments, Knoth became the third two-time winner of the Carl Yastrzemski Award, presented to Suffolk’s most outstanding player.

“He’s the best high school pitcher we’ve ever seen,” Frascogna said, unequivocally, of Knoth. “And we’ve seen some great ones. But this guy had the wow factor.”

Knoth is the first Patchogue-Medford player to win the Yastrzemski Award since righty Marcus Stroman in 2008. Stroman is currently having an All-Star caliber season with the Chicago Cubs. He led the National League with a 2.28 ERA and was tied for the league lead in wins (9), entering Thursday.

Nassau Player of the Year: Erik Paulsen, Massapequa, P/1B, Sr.

He hit safely in 26 of 27 games and led Massapequa to the Nassau Class AA crown for the sixth straight year. His two-out, walk-off grand slam sent Massapequa to the Long Island championship game. Paulsen hit .549 with 45 hits, 35 RBIs, nine doubles, a triple and nine home runs. He walked 19 times and struck out only once. He compiled a 7-2 record on the mound and struck out 69 batters in 45 innings for an ERA of 1.09.

Catholic League Player of the Year: Victor Frederick, St. Dominic’s, P, Jr.

The St. John’s commit emerged as one of Long Island’s top two-way players. On the mound, he had a 7-1 record with 72 strikeouts in 46 innings and only allowed 15 hits and three earned runs (0.50 ERA). He also batted .404 with 21 hits, including two home runs and 12 RBIs.

FIRST TEAM

AJ Aschettino, Rocky Point, 2B/SS, Jr.

He earned the Suffolk League VII MVP after hitting .522 with a .587 on-base percentage. He had 35 hits, including 21 runs, 27 RBIs, and five home runs. The slick-fielding middle infielder is committed to Northeastern.

Chris Carson, Lindenhurst, OF/P, Sr.

He won the Suffolk Gold Glove Award for an outfielder. Carson hit .585 with 31 hits, 19 walks and a .694 on-base percentage. He had 10 doubles, two triples, three home runs, scored 33 runs, and had 32 RBIs. He was also 6-0 on the mound with 75 strikeouts in 42 innings and an ERA of 0.83. He is committed to Stony Brook.

Thomas Charlwood, Lindenhurst, OF, Sr.

He earned Suffolk’s Blue Chip Silver Slugger Award as the county’s top hitter. He also won the inaugural  Bryan Bonin Award, batting .551 with 38 hits, including eight doubles, three triples and seven home runs as the leadoff man. He drove in 31 runs and scored another 43. The St. Thomas Aquinas commit added 11 stolen bases.

Brady Clark, Bayport-Blue Point, P/1B, Sr.

He was the Suffolk League VIII MVP. Clark pitched to a 7-1 record with a 1.35 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 57 innings. The St. John’s commit also batted .395 with 30 hits, including seven doubles and 23 RBIs.

Tyler Cook, Holy Trinity, C, Jr.

He was one of the CHSAA's leading hitters, batting .413 with 38 hits, including six doubles, three triples and three home runs. He scored 23 runs and had 31 RBIs. A versatile player, he could catch, play the infield and pitch - in relief or as a starter. He pitched 6 2/3 innings in a 6-0 win over Chaminade to capture the CHSAA Class AA title.

Michael D’Ambrosio, Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK, P, Jr.

He earned the Nassau Conference AA-2 pitching MVP, posting an 8-1 record. He had a 1.59 ERA, walked 14 and struck out 83 in 52 2/3 innings. He also hit .543 with 44 hits, including five home runs and an OPS of 1.460.

Jason DeCaro, St. Anthony’s, P, Sr.

The UNC commit led St. Anthony’s to the regular-season CHSAA title and was voted their Player of the Year. He batted .340 with six extra-base hits, 11 runs and 14 RBIs. He was 4-3 with one save and 55 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings pitched and posted an ERA of 2.31.

Evan Kay, Commack, P, Jr.

Kay had a 28-inning post-season scoreless streak, shutting out four straight playoff opponents, including a two-hitter in the state Class AA semifinal. He batted .529 with 36 hits, including 12 doubles, one triple and a home run. He also drove in 43 runs and scored 49.

Kieran Kehoe, Mepham, 1B, Jr.

The 6-7 power hitter earned the Diamond Award for a position player after he batted .608 with 48 hits, 10 doubles, a triple and six home runs. He had 42 RBIs, 28 runs, and 12 walks.

Andrew Koshy, Kellenberg, P/3B, Sr.

The Wake Forest commit was voted the CHSAA Pitcher of the Year with a 5-0 record. He struck out 49, walked six and allowed three earned runs over 37 innings. He had a 0.56 ERA. Koshy had a career record of 13-2 with 132 strikeouts over 97 innings and an ERA of 1.10.

Chris McHugh, Commack, SS, Sr.

The Suffolk League I MVP was a line drive machine. He hit .552 and had 43 hits, including 12 doubles, four triples, and three home runs. The Virginia Commonwealth commit drove in 29 runs and scored another 49. He was 17-for-17 in stolen base attempts and led Commack to the Long Island title.

James Sill, Division, P, Sr.

Sill earned the Diamond Award as Nassau’s top pitcher with a 9-1 record and an ERA of 0.60. He struck out 84, allowed 29 hits and walked 12 over 58 innings, leading the Blue Dragons to the Nassau Class A title. He also batted .476 with 40 hits, including 16 doubles, eight home runs, 33 runs and 40 RBIs.

Charlie West, Ward Melville, P, Sr.

The UConn commit earned the Paul Gibson Award, presented to Suffolk’s top pitcher. He had a 6-1 record and struck out 97 in 54 1/3 innings. Opponents hit .116 against him and he had an ERA of 1.42. His signature performance came in a 16-strikeout no-hitter against Smithtown East.

Nassau Coach of the Year: Tom Tuttle, Division

Tuttle led the Blue Dragons (27-2) to the Long Island Class A championship game with a 3-0 shutout of Calhoun to take the best-of-three series. It was Tuttle’s fifth Nassau crown in 16 years and first since 2015.

Suffolk Coach of the Year: Matt Salmon, Commack

He led Commack to its third straight Suffolk Class AA crown. The Cougars (25-3) earned the Long Island championship with a 7-0 win over Massapequa and lost a 2-1 heartbreaker to Roy C. Ketcham in the state title game.

CHSAA Coach of the Year: Dan Luisi, Holy Trinity

He turned a program that won only four games two years ago into a playoff caliber team. The Titans (21-8) won the CHSAA Long Island title with a 6-0 win over Chaminade in the deciding third game of the championship series. Holy Trinity won the CHSAA Class AA state championship with a 3-2 win over St. Francis of Buffalo.

By Gregg Sarra

gregg.sarra@newsday.com@Gregg_Sarra

Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.