Maryland baseball shortstop Matt Shaw officially broke the program record for career home runs after hitting his 44th as a Terp against Georgetown on April 26, passing Paul Schager.
“Matty deserves every ounce of that,” coach Rob Vaughn said. “He’s probably — when it’s all said and done — gonna be the best player to ever walk through here. So happy for him that he’s able to get that.”
The junior broke the record in 146 career games and less than three full seasons on the diamond. Schager needed four seasons (1984-1987) to reach 43 home runs, which had been the program record for the last 36 years.
Shaw clubbed seven home runs as a freshman before bursting out onto the scene and blasting 22 last season, second on the team behind Chris Alleyne’s 24. His 15 home runs this year is tied for the team-lead with senior third baseman Nick Lorusso.
The shortstop entered his junior campaign with 29 career homers, tied for the ninth-most in program history, before rising up the ranks to the top spot after 41 games this season.
Shaw passed associate head coach Matt Swope, who played for the Terps from 1999-2002, for fifth place in program history with his 136th career RBI April 19th against James Madison. He is currently just 14 RBIs away from the program record of 156, set by Scott Patterson in 1988.
Shaw is also eight extra-base hits away from passing Will Frazier for the program record of 94.
A projected first-round pick in this summer’s MLB Draft, Shaw has made his intentions of turning pro after this season clear. The Massachusetts native will look to lead the Terps to one more NCAA Tournament appearance in the coming weeks as he caps off his legendary career in College Park.
