“What an honor for our program to have two players named First Team All-Americans," said new Lee head coach Mark Brew. "The coaching staff is extremely proud of both Jon and Andrew.  Both had banner seasons and the countless hours they invested into the season were rewarded.  Hopefully, Jon can utilize this to spring him into a professional baseball career and Andrew will return to Lee as one of the top players in the NAIA for his senior season.”

The honors come just one year after Lee had a baseball player selected as a NAIA first-team All-American for the very first time. B.J. Church earned that title as a junior pitcher, but missed all but two weeks of his senior season with a broken hand.

Shaver, who played his high school ball at Chattanooga Central and lives in Harrison, Tenn., enjoyed a remarkable season. His superior effort was rewarded when he was chosen as the Southern States Athletic Conference and Region XIII Player of the Year.

Batting leadoff for the Flames, the talented centerfielder hit .401 and collected a school record 91 hits during the 2006 season. He blasted 16 homers and a record 21 doubles. Shaver finished one short of the RBI record, held by former teammates Jimmy Stanfield and Bradley Ethridge (61). He stole 20 bases in 24 attempts and had an on-base percentage of .482.

Kirby was as steady as a rock for two seasons. During the .2006 campaign he did not surrender a home run and opposing batters only hit .150 against his powerful pitches. From Irvine, Ky., he matched his single-game strikeout record with 16 against one of the nation's best NAIA teams, Auburn-Montgomery. Kirby finished his two-year Lee career with 241 strikeouts, just four short of the record held by Brandon Cofer. His two-season pitching record was 24-4.

Former Lee skipper David Altopp said he was excited for both players. "The only thing better would have been watching them display their tallents in the NAIA World Series," he added. "It was almost a given that Shaver would be named, but having Kirby selected made it special. Jon battled to help carry our pitching staff the entire season. He was selected from the nation's best pitchers and that's a great honor."

While Shaver and Kirby were being selected to the All-American team, three Flames, including Shaver, were named NAIA All-American Scholar Athletes. Chris Camp and pitcher Gabe Seten joined Shaver on the academic squad.