2012-13 Capital One Academic All-America® Baseball Teams release dates:
College Division Team: Release 
NCAA Division III Team: Release
NCAA Division II Team: see below
NCAA Division I Team: Fri., May 31 release
Note: The four divisional Capital One Academic All-America® softball teams were announced last week.
• Capital One Academic All-America® website
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Capital One Academic All-America® Division II Baseball Team
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TOWSON, Md. – Pitcher Taylor Rakes, a graduate student from Tusculum College, headlines the 2013 Capital One Academic All-America® Division II baseball team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
The Capital One Division II Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II national governance structure to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2012-13 D-II Academic All-America® teams program.
A native of Norcross, Ga.,
Rakes has been named as the Capital One Academic All-America® of the Year for NCAA Division II. An economics and international business management major with a 3.87 undergraduate G.P.A. and 4.00 graduate G.P.A., he is a repeat selection on the first team.
The Pioneers finished the season with a 33-18 record while Rakes led the team on the field and in the classroom. He posted a 7-2 record with a 2.82 earned run average while striking out 84 hitters in 89.1 innings. Rakes finished his career with a 26-7 record, the second-highest victory total in school history.
Rakes was named to the Daktronics All-Southeast Region second team in 2013. He was a two-time second team All-South Atlantic Conference selection and led Tusculum to a pair of SAC championships. He was part of two teams that advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament. Rakes was chosen as the SAC Baseball Scholar Athlete of the Year twice and was the 2011-12 recipient of the SAC Presidents’ Award, the highest honor bestowed to an SAC student-athlete. He was a two-time SAC Gold Glove team member.
Rakes is one of two members of the Capital One Academic All-America® first team who earned Academic All-America® honors in the past.
The 11 members of the Capital One Academic All-America® Division II baseball first team combined for a 3.85 G.P.A.
Junior outfielder David Atwood of Young Harris College was named to the Capital One Academic All-America® Division II second team in 2012. A biology major with a 3.82 G.P.A., the Waynesville, N.C. native led the Mountain Lions to a 25-23 record in the second year of a three-year NCAA Division II membership process.
Atwood finished the season with a .306 batting average while scoring 42 runs with 46 runs batted in. He is a career .352 hitter who has 43 doubles, 12 home runs, 140 RBI’s and 36 stolen bases. A member of the Alpha Chi and Phi Theta Kappa honor societies, he is currently conducting research alongside the Georgia Department of Natural Resources on a potentially endangered fish. He also serves as the vice-president of Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
An engineering management major with a 3.54 G.P.A.,
senior Carl O’Neal of St. Mary’s University is the other pitcher on the first team .Honored as the Daktronics National Pitcher of the Year in 2012, O’Neal won 21 consecutive games from 2011-13 for the second best all-time mark in Division II. The San Antonio, Tex., native led the Rattlers to a College World Series appearance in 2012 and four straight Heartland Conference titles. He finished the 2013 season with a 13-2 record, a 1.97 earned run average and 62 strikeouts for a team that posted a 39-17 record. He concluded his career with a 39-6 record, the second most wins in school history.
A finance major with a 3.97 G.P.A.,
senior Andrew LaCombe of Angelo State University is the catcher on the first team. A two-time All-Lone Star Conference first team selection, he was named to the NCBCWA and Daktronics All-South Central Region first team in 2013. The Southlake, Texas native led the Rams to an LSC title in 2012 and a second consecutive berth in the NCAA South Central Region Tournament in 2013 as Angelo State finished the season with a 37-21 record. He batted.333 with 15 doubles, 43 runs and 46 RBI’s as a senior.
A business administration major with a 3.76 G.P.A.,
USC Aiken's Bill Gerstenslager is the designated hitter on the first team. He led USC Aiken with 30 extra-base hits on the year with 21 doubles, seven home runs and two triples. Gerstenslager had 127 total bases and scored 53 runs with 54 RBI’s. A Tino Martinez Award semifinalist and a Daktronics All-Southeast Region and All-America first team selection, Gerstenslager was also named to the NCBWA All-Southeast Region second team, the ABCA All-Southeast Region second team, the All-Peach Belt Conference first team and the Peach Belt Conference All-Academic Team. While batting .380, he led the Pacers to a 42-13 record and a berth in the NCAA Southeast Region tournament.
California Baptist University placed three student-athletes on the first team,
senior infielder Ryan Cathers, and outfielders Luke Esquerra and Zach Esquerra. The Esquerra brothers are twins.
A communication studies major with a 3.93 G.P.A.,
Cathers has led the Lancers to back-to-back NCCAA national championships and a total of 86 wins in the past two years. The Northridge, Cal. native earned All-Pacific West Conference first team notice in 2013 after batting .329 with nine doubles and 37 RBI’s. A middle infielder, he earned Golden State Athletic Conference and Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athlete honors in 2011.
A senior kinesiology major from La Habra, Cal.,
Luke Esquerra has a 3.86 G.P.A. He had an outstanding season in 2013, batting .360 with 52 runs, 13 doubles, 11 home runs and 46 RBI’s while leading the team to a 43-18 record and a PacWest championship. He drew 32 walks en route to posting a .459 on-base percentage. He was also named first team All-Pacific West Conference, Rawlings/ABCA All-West Region and NCBWA All-West Region in 2013.
Zach Esquerra, is a junior criminal justice and psychology major with a 3.87 G.P.A. The La Habra, Cal., native recently concluded a fabulous season with a .388 batting average, 61 runs, 17 doubles, 17 home runs and 54 RBI’s. The PacWest Conference Player of the Year, he had a .496 on-base percentage and a .745 slugging percentage. He was named the West Region Player of the Year by both Rawlings/ABCA and the NCBWA. With one more year of eligibility left, he is set to become the Lancers’ career leader in home runs with 42 after three seasons. As a sophomore, he was named second team All-PacWest and earned honorable mention NCBWA All-West Region honors.
Seniors Brian Haggett of California State University Monterey Bay and
Derek Mendoza of Grand Canyon University join
junior Brad Foss of Pittsburg State University to complete the infield.
A kinesiology major with a 3.92 G.P.A.,
Haggett led California State Monterey Bay to the best season in school history with a 39-17 record. The Otters also won the California Collegiate Athletic Assocation regular season title and a berth in the NCAA West Region tournament. The team leader with 43 runs scored, the first baseman banged out 14 doubles and hit four home runs while drawing 28 walks. He had a 15-game hitting streak this season and is a two-time Academic All-District pick.
The Pacific West Conference Preseason Player of the Year,
Mendoza led Grand Canyon to a West Region championship. Heading into the NCAA Division II Championship, the Mesa, Ariz. native led the team with a .370 batting average, 67 hits, 40 RBI’s, 40 runs and a .435 on-base percentage. An interdisciplinary studies major with a 3.79 G.P.A., he led the team to a PacWest Tournament title and was named to the all-tournament team. A first team Daktronics West All-Region selection, he led the Lopes to a final 40-19 record.
A graphic communications major with a perfect 4.00 G.P.A.,
Foss is a two-year starter at third base for Pittsburg State. A first team All-MIAA selection, he was the Gorillas’ leading hitter with a .379 batting average. He had 17 doubles and 35 RBI’s while leading the team to a 29-24 record. He is an MIAA Presidential Scholar and a two-time MIAA Academic Honor roll selection.
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A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.
Capital One, an NCAA Corporate Champion, began its affiliation with college sports with the sponsorship of the 2001 Capital One Florida Citrus Bowl (now the Capital One Bowl) and ESPN’s Capital One Bowl Week. In addition, Capital One sponsors the ABC College Football Halftime Report, Capital One All-America Mascot team, Capital One Academic All-America® Program, and supports all 89 NCAA Championships including the Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships, and numerous other collegiate athletics programs.
About the Capital One Academic All-America® Program
To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.
Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 16,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
For more information about the Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit
www.cosida.com.
For More Information, please contact:
Dan O’Connell, Towson University
Academic All-America ® Vice-Chair for Publicity/Communications
doconnell@towson.edu
(410) 704-3102
Shane Meling, Texas A&M - Kingsville
Academic All-America ® Coordinator of Publicity
shane.meling@tamuk.edu
(361) 593-2870