Pirate Trio Garners Perfect Game Postseason All-America Accolades
June 10, 2025 | Baseball
GREENVILLE, N.C. – After helping lead East Carolina to an American Athletic Conference Tournament championship and an appearance in the NCAA Conway Regional final, Ethan Norby, Braden Burress and Austin Irby have collected All-America accolades from Perfect Game according to a release by the organization Tuesday afternoon.
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Norby has been tabbed to the All-America Third Team while Burress earned his second First Team Freshman All-America honor, adding to National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association accolades. Irby was also named to the Freshman All-America First Team.
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Norby, who is set to return for his junior year in 2026, enjoyed a standout 2025 campaign, compiling an 8-5 record with a 3.80 earned run average and 119 strikeouts against only 22 walks in 90.0 innings of work. Entering the College World Series, he slots second in the American Athletic Conference and 10th nationally in strikeouts while ranking 19th among NCAA Division I pitchers in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.41) and 27th in strikeouts per nine innings (11.90). Norby's 119 strikeouts are tied for the fourth most in a single season in program history.
Perhaps the defining moment of Norby's two-year career in the Purple and Gold occurred back on March 7th when he struck out 19 Coastal Carolina batters in the Pirates' 7-0 victory over the then 24th-ranked Chanticleers inside Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium. He was also tabbed to the NCAA Conway Regional All-Tournament Team after a solid 7.1-inning outing in East Carolina's 11-6 regional opener win over No. 17 Florida. Norby struck out 10 and did not record a walk while limiting the Gators to three earned runs.
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Burress, along with Norby, helped lead the Pirates to their fourth American Athletic Conference Tournament championship back in late May as ECU swept through South Florida, Charlotte and Tulane to hoist their first league tourney trophy since 2022. He was named the event's Most Outstanding Player after hitting .450 (9-for-20) with six runs scored, a double, two home runs and five RBI in four games. Burress was also recognized on the All-AAC Second Team and All-Freshman Team just prior to the tournament in Clearwater.
Having already confirmed his commitment to return for his sophomore season in Greenville, Burress paced the Pirates in multiple-hit games (26) while also turning in nine multiple-RBI efforts. He enjoyed a 10-game hitting streak earlier in the year from March 12-28 and registered a four-hit performance four times – March 25 at Duke, April 15 versus UNCW, April 18 at UAB and May 20 in the AAC Tournament opener against South Florida.
Irby, who also recently declared his commitment to continue competing for the Purple and Gold in 2026, finished third on the squad in batting average (.303) while ranking second in home runs (12), RBI (50) and walks drawn (35). He was electric in the NCAA Conway Regional, batting .588 (10-for-17) with eight runs scored, two doubles, three home runs and seven RBI on the way to All-Tournament honors after picking up AAC All-Tournament laurels in Clearwater. Irby posted a four-hit performance in the regional opener versus No. 17 Florida, adding three runs scored and three RBI as East Carolina knocked off the Gators by an 11-6 score. He then registered three hits, two runs scored and two RBI in the winner's bracket contest with No. 13 national seed Coastal Carolina.
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Norby has been tabbed to the All-America Third Team while Burress earned his second First Team Freshman All-America honor, adding to National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association accolades. Irby was also named to the Freshman All-America First Team.
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Norby, who is set to return for his junior year in 2026, enjoyed a standout 2025 campaign, compiling an 8-5 record with a 3.80 earned run average and 119 strikeouts against only 22 walks in 90.0 innings of work. Entering the College World Series, he slots second in the American Athletic Conference and 10th nationally in strikeouts while ranking 19th among NCAA Division I pitchers in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.41) and 27th in strikeouts per nine innings (11.90). Norby's 119 strikeouts are tied for the fourth most in a single season in program history.
Perhaps the defining moment of Norby's two-year career in the Purple and Gold occurred back on March 7th when he struck out 19 Coastal Carolina batters in the Pirates' 7-0 victory over the then 24th-ranked Chanticleers inside Lewis Field at Clark-LeClair Stadium. He was also tabbed to the NCAA Conway Regional All-Tournament Team after a solid 7.1-inning outing in East Carolina's 11-6 regional opener win over No. 17 Florida. Norby struck out 10 and did not record a walk while limiting the Gators to three earned runs.
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Burress, along with Norby, helped lead the Pirates to their fourth American Athletic Conference Tournament championship back in late May as ECU swept through South Florida, Charlotte and Tulane to hoist their first league tourney trophy since 2022. He was named the event's Most Outstanding Player after hitting .450 (9-for-20) with six runs scored, a double, two home runs and five RBI in four games. Burress was also recognized on the All-AAC Second Team and All-Freshman Team just prior to the tournament in Clearwater.
Having already confirmed his commitment to return for his sophomore season in Greenville, Burress paced the Pirates in multiple-hit games (26) while also turning in nine multiple-RBI efforts. He enjoyed a 10-game hitting streak earlier in the year from March 12-28 and registered a four-hit performance four times – March 25 at Duke, April 15 versus UNCW, April 18 at UAB and May 20 in the AAC Tournament opener against South Florida.
Irby, who also recently declared his commitment to continue competing for the Purple and Gold in 2026, finished third on the squad in batting average (.303) while ranking second in home runs (12), RBI (50) and walks drawn (35). He was electric in the NCAA Conway Regional, batting .588 (10-for-17) with eight runs scored, two doubles, three home runs and seven RBI on the way to All-Tournament honors after picking up AAC All-Tournament laurels in Clearwater. Irby posted a four-hit performance in the regional opener versus No. 17 Florida, adding three runs scored and three RBI as East Carolina knocked off the Gators by an 11-6 score. He then registered three hits, two runs scored and two RBI in the winner's bracket contest with No. 13 national seed Coastal Carolina.
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