Senior first baseman Noah Holland of the Anna Maria College baseball team has been named the Anna Maria Spotlight Athlete of the Week for the week of April 26, 2021.

“He’s the heart and soul of our team.” Head coach Dan Briand said of his senior team captain’s leadership. “He sets the standard with his work ethic and preparation. He holds everyone accountable and always leads by example. When something needs to be said, Noah is always the one to say it.”

A business administration major from Sandwich, Massachusetts, Holland has helped lead the AMCATS to a 15-8 record as of this writing, the team’s best record in years.

“Keeping things simple is the only way to do all of this.” Holland said of his team’s efforts at meeting the challenges of this academic year. “We tell our guys to focus on doing the next thing right and nothing else. Have a good day of classes, then have a good practice, then have a good lift and then do it all again the next day. That is all you can do and that’s all you can ask of each other. Being where our feet are and being present in the moment are the best way for us all to get our jobs done.”

Holland is having a great year at the plate for Anna Maria, hitting .364 with three home runs and 26 runs plated over 23 games.

“I’ve learned to not take a collegiate athletic career for granted. Caring less about the results and caring more about enjoying our time with our teammates has been a valuable lesson from this pandemic. We appreciate all the work Coach Brady and President Retelle have done to get us back on the field, and we can’t thank them enough that they delivered us to this point in the year. Their leadership has been a model for all of us to follow and they have been one of the main reasons that we are where we are today.”

The senior joined Anna Maria’s 100 career hit club during the abridged 2020 season. For his career, he has amassed 143 hits.