Yes, Zack Konstantinovsky is the Central Jersey Sports Radio Player of the Year.

Again.

The Rutgers-bound senior from North Brunswick picked up the award for a second straight year, and few in our coverage area could have any argument.

There are dominant pitchers and dominant hitters and some very good fielders in Middlesex and Somerset Counties, our main coverage area. But there are few who are so good at all three.

Scroll down below the interview for CJSR’s Player of the Year Honorable Mentions:

Zack’s pitching stats speak for themselves: In ten starts (plus one relief appearance of a single inning) he gave up eight runs all year, only five earned, and struck out 88, walking just nine, in 63 innings pitched. He averaged just 13.4 pitches per inning, making him immensely efficient.

Watching him pitch, work his craft, and dominate hitters is another thing.

Then, there’s the damage he can do at the plate: he hit .469 on the year, often DHing for himself so he could stay in the game in the rare occasion a reliever would have to be brought in. He scored 33 runs, rarely taken out for a courtesy runner. He hit eight home runs, tied for the team lead with fellow senior Omar Carreras.

Put another way, he hit three more home runs than he allowed earned runs this season.

But if there’s anything “Zack K” doesn’t get enough credit for is his defense. He’s a pitcher, no doubt about it, and Steve Owens will be getting a gem when he touches down a couple towns over in Piscataway next spring, perhaps the most highly-anticipated freshman pitcher to land on the Banks – at least locally – since Bobby Brownlie of Edison (though Harry Rutkowski of Woodbridge also was a stud).

But consider that Konstantinovsky also plays the field for North Brunswick when he’s not pitching, an excellent second baseman who contributes in all three phases of the game.

Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko talk with North Brunswick’s Zack Konstantinovsky, the Central Jersey Sports Radio Baseball Player of the Year for 2023:

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

• Connor Byrne, Ridge: As if having a 0.76 ERA for the season wasn’t enough, dominating hitters all year with 90 strikeouts in just 58 2/3 innings pitched – that’s 1.5 Ks per inning! – Byrne reached the pinnacle of success for a pitcher, throwing a perfect game against Bernards in the Somerset County Tournament quarterfinals. The Seina-bound senior is easily one of the top pitchers in the state, and the Saints are getting a steal.
• Casey Cumiskey, Spotswood: The Seton Hall-bound Cumiskey single-handedly rewrote the Charger record books and beyond this season. His 60 hits – which led the entire state of new Jersey – set a GMC and school single season record. His 34 runs batted in are a single season Spotswood record, as was his eye-popping .556 batting average. The “The Commish” – as his coach and teammates call him – finished with a .520 career batting average, also a school record, and hit in 27 of 29 games this season. And he went out with a bang in the Central Jersey Group 2 finals loss to Rumson, hitting a two-run homer in his final at bat, and finishing a triple shy of a cycle.
• Mark Gialluisi, St. Joseph-Metuchen: If there’s a hitter you don’t want to face on the Falcons, it’s Gialluisi, who hit .486 this year, and had 54 hits on the season, along with two home runs and 19 RBIs. But he’s more than that. He’s the quarterback of the team from his spot behind the plate, a steadying hand on a pitching staff that saw six different pitchers throw at least 15 innings this year. Gialluisi will continue his baseball career at Virginia.
• Max Treonze, Rutgers Prep: His numbers were outstanding, allowing just a single earned run (four total) all year, in 41 innings pitched. He threw about two-thirds the innings of Konstantinovsky, but still had 77 strikeouts, walking only four, and pitched a gem when it counted most: against Ridge in the Somerset County Tournament final for a 1-0 win, and the championship. And he’s a gamer, too, helping pitch his team to the Non-Public North B finals just weeks after getting beaned in the nose with a 90 mile-an-hour fastball in the Prep B final against Pennington. Treonze is the only junior in the group, and is uncommitted at present.