IOWA FALLS, IOWA -- Ellsworth CC's Jose Valentin capped a solid sophomore season by being voted a NJCAA All-American.  Valentin, a native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, was named to the Division II All-American 3rd team as a catcher.  The two-year starter for the Panthers paced the team in most offensive statistics on his way to the national honors.  Valentin, while starting in every one of ECC's 47 games this spring, batted .417 with 68 hits, 18 doubles, 13 home runs, 49 RBIs, 127 total bases, a .779 slugging percentage, and a .487 on-base percentage.  For his ECC career, Valentin hit .360 while slamming 20 homers and 28 doubles and knocking in 94 runs.

Valentin is the first Panther since Travis Miller in 2017 to be recognized as a NJCAA All-American and he's the 19th Ellsworth baseball player to be named to an All-American team.