June 5, 2002
TUCSON, AZ - COLLEGIATE BASEBALL NEWS announced thatOld Dominion University freshman righthander Justin Verlander (Goochland, VA.) has been selected first team Freshman All-American. Verlander, the CAA Rookie of the Year becomes the sixth Monarch newcomer to earn first team honors.
The 6-4, 195-pounder led the CAA with a 1.90 earned run average. He ranked second in the league with 137 strikeouts in 113.2 innings. He had eight complete games and was involved in all four Monarch shutouts.
Verlander fanned ten or more batters five times, including an ODU record 17 in a 2-0 victory over James Madison. His season strikeout total is second highest in ODU history and third in CAA history. Opponents hit only.207 against him and only 15 of the 83 hits he gave up were for extra bases. He averaged 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings pitched, catching 53 batters looking.
PAST ODU FIRST TEAM FRESHMAN ALL AMERICANS
| Player | Year | Association |
| 1985 | Wiley Lee | Collegiate Baseball |
| 1991 | Wayne Gomes | Collegiate Baseball & Baseball America |
| 1993 | Kevin Gibbs | Collegiate Baseball & Baseball America |
| 1994 | Brett Wheeler | Collegiate Baseball |
| 1998 | Tim Hummel | Collegiate Baseball & Baseball America |
Note: Baseball America has not yet released their freshmen squad.