Surry’s Connolly, Chambers named NJCAA All-Americans

CHARLOTTE — Surry Community College’s Matthew Connolly and Jalen Chambers were recently named Division III All-Americans in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).

Connolly was selected as the top catcher nationally by earning a spot on the All-America First Team, while Chambers, an infielder and pitcher, was honored on the Third Team.

“Both Jalen and Matthew are very worthy of this tremendous honor,” said Surry head coach Tim Collins. “They both played very important positions and were instrumental in our success this past season.”

A freshman from Mount Ulla, N.C. (West Rowan High School), Connolly hit .348 with seven home runs and 44 RBIs in 48 games. He scored 44 runs while drawing 48 walks and stealing 27 bases; his 48 walks ranked fourth nationally.

Connolly finished the 2024 campaign as the Region 10 Player of the Year as selected by league coaches. He was also selected to the All-Region First Team.

Chambers, a sophomore from Kannapolis, N.C. (A.L. Brown High School) hit .321 with five home runs and 41 RBIs in 48 games. He scored 49 runs with 35 walks and 26 stolen bases.

Chambers also helped lead the Knights on the mound finishing with an 8-1 record and 2.92 earned run average. His eight wins ranked eighth nationally.

In addition to his All-American Honors, Chambers was also named to the All-Region First Team, All-Tournament team and was runner-up in Region 10 Player of the Year voting.

“Both Jalen and Matthew were team leaders on the field and in the clubhouse,” Collins said. “They represented Surry in the highest manner possible. This is a great honor for both of these young men and our program.”

Connolly and Chambers helped lead Surry to a 38-10 overall record. The Knights finished the season Region 10 regular season champions and Region 10 tournament runner-up.

Surry ranked as high as No. 6 nationally before finishing No. 9 in the final NJCAA rankings.

Full NJCAA All-America Teams are listed below, formatted as: Position, Name, College, Class

All-America First Team

P Jack Turner, Suffolk County (NY) So.

P Jayden Voelker, Northern Essex (MA) So.

P Austin Beard, Northampton (PA) So.

C Matthew Connolly, Surry (NC) Fr.

INF Rocko Brzezniak, Brookdale (NJ) So.

INF Chris Bear, Northern Essex (MA) So.

INF Caden Dulin, RCSJ Gloucester (NJ) So.

INF Andrew Stillinger SUNY Niagara (NY) So.

OF Nick Hockemeyer Dallas-Richland (TX) Fr.

OF Nick LoVarco Brookdale (NJ) So.

OF Max D’Alessandro RCSJ Gloucester (NJ) So.

DH Trey Smith Dallas-Richland (TX) Fr.

All-America Second Team

P Marcus Peters, Dallas-Eastfield (TX) So.

P Andrew Johnson, SUNY Niagara (NY) So.

P Jake Burt, Brookdale (NJ) Fr.

C Filip Milatovic, DuPage (IL) So.

INF Dominic LaFroscia, Suffolk County (NY) So.

INF Sam Holthaus, St. Cloud Tech (MN) So.

INF Payton Poole, Dallas-Eastfield (TX) So.

INF Andrew Ardito, Kingsborough (NY) So.

OF Gavyn Boyle, SUNY Niagara (NY) Fr.

OF Levi Lampert, Alexandria Tech (MN) So.

OF Max Lalime, Northern Essex (MA) So.

DH Dioscar Cuello, Suffolk County (NY) So.

All-America Third Team

P Adrian Quezada, Monroe-Bronx (NY) So.

P Danny Kerr, RCSJ Gloucester (NJ) So.

P Jack Otis, Joliet (IL) So.

C Augusto Mungarrieta, Rochester (MN) Fr.

INF Jalen Chambers, Surry (NC) So.

INF Jaden Nestor-Fox, Lorain County (OH) So.

INF Robert Furino, Northampton (PA) So.

INF Ernesto Polanco, RCSJ Gloucester (NJ) So.

OF Mitch Thomas, Joliet (IL) So.

OF Gavin Degnan, RCSJ Gloucester (NJ) Fr.

OF Hayden Carpenter, Dallas-Cedar Valley (TX) Fr.

DH Seth Tierney, Century (MN) Fr.