Carson DeMartini and Kennedy Jones were high school baseball stars last year. They avoided pitfalls to stand out as college freshmen.

The freshman year is usually the most difficult as college athletes adjust to the next level athletically and academically.

But Virginia Tech’s Carson DeMartini and UNC Greenboro’s Kennedy Jones seemed unfazed by the new challenge as the former first-team All-Tidewater selections were named to three All-America teams — the 2022 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Freshman All-America team, the 2022 D1Baseball.com Freshman All-America team and the 2022 Collegiate Baseball Freshmen All-American team.

DeMartini, who starred at Ocean Lakes High in Virginia Beach, was named to the first team on the NCBWA and D1 Baseball.com teams. Jones, who starred at Maury High in Norfolk, was named to the second team on both.

They were joined on the All-American teams by Old Dominion freshman Blake Morgan, who was named first team by the NCBWA and second team by D1Baseball. The Marlton, New Jersey, native went 8-0 with a 1.69 ERA with 66 strikeouts. He is the first ODU pitcher to receive multiple freshman All-American honors since Justin Verlander in 2002.

DeMartini, who helped lead the Hokies to the NCAA Super Regionals, batted .341 with a .659 slugging percentage. He had 50 RBIs, 15 homers, 14 doubles and three triples. He also had a .452 on-base percentage that included 35 walks.

“My first season was all I could have hoped for and more,” said DeMartini, an infielder. “The guys on the team were the best. Being able to go to the field every day and compete with some of the best players in the country was a blessing. I feel that Virginia Tech baseball and Hokie Nation had our backs all year long and that’s what made the year so special.”

As an Ocean Lakes senior, DeMartini batted .613 with 19 runs, 15 RBIs, 14 stolen bases, 13 walks — 11 intentional — and seven homers.

But being able to carry that success to the collegiate level and being named an All-American was rewarding.

“Being named a freshman (All-American) is very neat,” said DeMartini, who also earned All-ACC Academic and All-ACC All-Freshman honors. “It’s a great honor and something that I am very proud of. I worked extremely hard to get to this point and have been pushed by my coaches and teammates all year long to be able to receive an award like so.”

Jones, who plays first base and outfield for the Spartans, batted .367 with a .594 slugging percentage. He had 73 RBIs with 16 doubles, 11 homers and four triples. He also had an on-base percentage of .594, including 20 walks.

“I would say my first year of college baseball was electric,” said Jones, who also was named the Southern Conference Player of the Month in February and was named all-conference by media and coaches. “I grew so much as a player and a person once I stepped foot on campus. Made a lot of new life-long relationships with people. It’s definitely a year to remember.”

He said being named All-American, “means a lot,” but added “this is just the beginning of me proving all the people wrong who doubted me.”

Both can’t wait to see what the future holds for them.

“My confidence won’t change that much,” Kennedy said. “I stayed confident all year, it’s just time to get back to work and prepare for my sophomore year.”

DeMartini said he’s excited for next season as the Hokies try to improve on last season’s success.

“We are confident but not cocky, meaning we know we will be good,” he said. “But that’s not an excuse to not kick butt this fall and winter, and try to win it all.”

Larry Rubama, 757-575-6449, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com. Twitter @LHRubama.