Awarded for | the yearly outstanding college baseball Academic All-America team member |
---|---|
Country | United States and Canada |
Presented by | College Sports Communicators |
History | |
Most recent | Jac Caglianone, Florida Alex Epp, William Jewell Matt Scolan, Wisconsin–Whitewater Tyler Horner, Oregon Tech |
Next award announcement | July 1, 2025 |
Website | Official site |
The Baseball Academic All-America Team Member of the Year is the annual most outstanding singular college baseball athlete of the set of baseball athletes selected for the Academic All-America Teams in a given year. The following is a list of the annual selection by College Sports Communicators (CSC), known before the 2022–23 season as the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), and its Academic All-America sponsor of the individual athlete selected as the most outstanding of the annual Baseball Academic All-America selections. Between 1996 and 2011, one winner each was chosen from both the college and University Divisions for all twelve Academic All-America teams including football. The Academic All-America program recognizes combined athletic and academic excellence of the nation's top student-athletes. The University Division team included eligible participants from National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I member schools, while the College Division team included scholar-athletes from all of the following: NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), Canadian universities and colleges and two-year schools.
Beginning in 2012, CSC revamped its award structure. The University Division was renamed "Division I". Since then, NCAA Divisions II and III have had their own separate All-Americans. The College Division consisted only of non-NCAA institutions through the 2017–18 school year, after which it was effectively replaced by an NAIA division restricted to members of that governing body. [1] [lower-alpha 1]
Currently, each team selects Academic All-District honorees in eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada. [2] The districts are as follows: – District 1 (CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, RI, VT), District 2 (DC, DE, KY, MD, NJ, PA, WV), District 3 (NC, TN, VA), District 4 (AL, FL, GA, PR, SC), District 5 (IL, IN, MI, OH), District 6 (AR, IA, LA, MN, MO, MS, MT, ND, SD, WI, WY), – District 7 (CO, ID, KS, NE, NM, NV, OK, TX), District 8 (AK, AZ, CA, HI, OR, UT, WA, Canada). [3] First team All-District honorees make the All-America team ballots. Currently, all twelve Academic All-American teams (men's and women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's track & field, men's baseball, women's softball, men's American football, women's volleyball and men's and women's at-large teams) have four Academic All-Americans of the Year, one from each division. In each of the four divisions (NAIA, Division I, Division II, and Division III), one of the twelve sport-by-sport Academic All-Americans of the Year is selected as the Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for that division. [4]
As of January 31,2024 [update] , Johns Hopkins University (31) has had the most baseball Academic All-America honorees, just ahead of Bucknell University and Notre Dame University with 30 each. [5] While Bucknell has had an athlete win this award, neither Notre Dame's nor Johns Hopkins' athletes have been recognized with this award. [6]
On August 7, 2012, Division III honoree Drew Golz of Wheaton College became the first Baseball Academic All-America Team Member of the Year to be named Division III Academic All-America Team Member of the Year. That same year Golz had been named Men's Soccer Academic All-America Team Member of the Year, becoming the first male student-athlete to be named Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for two different sports in the same year. [7] The next day, Division II honoree Bryan Lippincott of Concordia University, St. Paul became the Division II Academic All-America Team Member of the Year. [8] Thus, for the 2011–12 academic calendar, baseball had the Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for two of the four Divisions. The most recent baseball awardee that was named overall Academic All-America Team Member of the Year is John Coleman of Division III Clarkson University. Like Golz, Clarkson was named Academic All-America Team Member of the Year, having been previously named Academic All-America Team Member of the Year in basketball. Coleman was the third and second male two-sport honoree, following Golz in 2011–12 and Cynthia Capp of West Virginia Wesleyan who earned the honor in volleyball (1990) and softball (1991). [9]
When the Division I level was known as the University Division, it had repeat back-to-back winners in 2000 and 2001 as well as 2002 and 2003 with Casey Myers (of Arizona State Sun Devils baseball) [10] [11] being followed by Jeff Leise (of Nebraska Cornhuskers baseball). [12] [13] In 2001 and 2002, Douglas Hargett of University of North Alabama was the first College Division repeat winner before the College Division was split. [11] [12] Since Division II and Division III were split from NAIA, two-year and Canadian schools, Conner Combs repeated for the Division III East Texas Baptist Tigers in 2016 and 2017. [14] [15]
† | Indicates winners of the all-sports Academic All-America award. |
All winners are American unless indicated otherwise.
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-America team for their sport. Some sports have multiple All-America teams and will list the honorees as members of a first team, second team, or third team.
A sports information director is a type of public relations worker who provides statistics, team, and player notes, as well as other information about a college or university's sports teams to the news media and public. Abbreviated as "SID," sports information directors often have varying titles, such as media relations director, director of athletics communications, and communications director.
The Academic All-America program is a student-athlete recognition program. The program selects an honorary sports team composed of the most outstanding student-athletes of a specific season for positions in various sports—who in turn are given the honorific "Academic All-American". Since 1952, College Sports Communicators has bestowed Academic All-American recognition on male and female athletes in Divisions I, II, and III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as well as athletes in the NAIA, other U.S. four-year schools, two-year colleges, and Canadian universities, covering all championship sports. The award honors student-athletes who have performed well academically and athletically while regularly competing for their institution.
College Sports Communicators (CSC) is a membership association for all strategic, creative and digital professionals working in intercollegiate athletics across all levels for colleges, universities and conferences across the United States and Canada. CSC provides year-round leadership, community, professional development, recognition and advocacy for its more than 4,100 members. The organization focused primarily on sports information directors before expanding during the 2022-23 academic year.
An All-American team is an honorary sports team composed of the best amateur players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply "All-Americans". Although the honorees generally do not compete together as a unit, the term is used in U.S. team sports to refer to players who are selected by members of the national media. Walter Camp selected the first All-America team in the early days of American football in 1889. The 2014 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans are honorary lists that include All-American selections from the Associated Press (AP), the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), the Sporting News (TSN), and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) for the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. All selectors choose at least a first and second 5-man team. The NABC, TSN and AP choose third teams, while AP also lists honorable mention selections.
An All-American team is an honorary sports team composed of the best amateur players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply "All-Americans". Although the honorees generally do not compete together as a unit, the term is used in U.S. team sports to refer to players who are selected by members of the national media. Walter Camp selected the first All-America team in the early days of American football in 1889. The 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans are honorary lists that include All-American selections from the Associated Press (AP), the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), the Sporting News (TSN), and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) for the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. All selectors choose at least a first and second 5-man team. The NABC, TSN and AP choose third teams, while AP also lists honorable mention selections.
An All-American team is an honorary sports team composed of the best amateur players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply "All-Americans". Although the honorees generally do not compete together as a unit, the term is used in U.S. team sports to refer to players who are selected by members of the national media. Walter Camp selected the first All-America team in the early days of American football in 1889. The 2016 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans are honorary lists that include All-American selections from the Associated Press (AP), the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), the Sporting News (TSN), and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) for the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. All selectors choose at least a first and second 5-man team. The NABC, TSN and AP choose third teams, while AP also lists honorable mention selections.
An All-American team is an honorary sports team composed of the best amateur players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply "All-Americans". Although the honorees generally do not compete together as a unit, the term is used in U.S. team sports to refer to players who are selected by members of the national media. Walter Camp selected the first All-America team in the early days of American football in 1889. The 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans are honorary lists that include All-American selections from the Associated Press (AP), the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), the Sporting News (TSN), and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) for the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. All selectors choose at least a first and second 5-man team. The NABC, TSN and AP choose third teams, while AP also lists honorable mention selections.
An All-American team is an honorary sports team composed of the best amateur players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply "All-Americans". Although the honorees generally do not compete together as a unit, the term is used in U.S. team sports to refer to players who are selected by members of the national media. Walter Camp selected the first All-America team in the early days of American football in 1889. The 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans are honorary lists that include All-American selections from the Associated Press (AP), the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), the Sporting News (TSN), and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) for the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. All selectors choose at least a first and second 5-man team. The NABC, TSN and AP choose third teams, while AP also lists honorable mention selections.
An All-American team is an honorary sports team composed of the best amateur players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply "All-Americans". Although the honorees generally do not compete together as a unit, the term is used in U.S. team sports to refer to players who are selected by members of the national media. Walter Camp selected the first All-America team in the early days of American football in 1889. The 2022 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans are honorary lists that include All-American selections from the Associated Press (AP), the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), Sporting News (SN), and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) for the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. All selectors choose three teams, while AP and USBWA also list honorable mention selections.
Drew Golz is an American former college baseball and men's soccer player from Illinois. A native of River Forest, Illinois, he attended Oak Park and River Forest High School where he earned All-state recognition in both sports. He was a two-sport All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin honoree for NCAA Division III Wheaton College (IL).