2014-15 Capital One Academic All-America® Baseball Teams release dates: 
College Division Teams: release/teams
NCAA Division III Teams: release/teams
NCAA Division II Teams: release/teams
NCAA Division I Teams: below
• Capital One Academic All-America® website
• Capital One Academic All-America® Baseball Team - Division I
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AUSTIN, TEXAS – Senior outfielder Sam Koenig of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee headlines the 2015 Capital One Academic All-America ® Division I Baseball Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
An education major with a 3.86 grade-point average, Koenig was selected as the winner of the Capital One Division I Academic All-America® of the Year award for Division I baseball.
Koenig, a native of Prairie du Sac, Wis., was named to the Louisville Slugger All-American third team, becoming just the third UWM player in program history to earn national All-American honors in baseball. He capped off his impressive Milwaukee career with a stellar senior season, earning first-team all-Horizon League honors and was a leading candidate for league player of the year in leading the Panthers to the Horizon League championship game and 39-20 record overall.
Koenig batted .361 with 57 runs batted in, scoring 58 runs while collecting 83 hits. A total of 36 of those hits went for extra bases, including a tally of 15 home runs that finished as the second-highest total in program history, two off the school record. He led the league in runs scored, hits, home runs and total bases and was second in doubles, runs batted in and slugging percentage. His 151 total bases finished second all-time in UWM history, just missing the school mark of 155.
Of the 33 members of the Capital One Academic All-America ® Division I baseball teams, 12 have a 3.90 G.P.A or better. Six of this year’s honorees have a perfect 4.0 G.P.A. Florida State was represented by three players, while Illinois State and Omaha each had a pair of players selected.
There are six repeat selections to the Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Baseball teams including a pair of student-athletes on the first team – Liberty University infielder
Alex Close, who earns Capital One Academic All-America® first team honors for the second straight year and Canisius College infielder
Connor Panas, who moves up to the first team after being named to the second team in 2014.
A trio of players – Southeast Missouri State University infielder
Jason Blum, Florida State University outfielder
DJ Stewart and designated hitter
Matt Parrish of Campbell University -- made the jump to the 2015 Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Baseball second team after being selected to the third team last season. University of Nebraska Omaha infielder
Alex Mortensen is making his second appearance on the Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Baseball third team.
Close, who carries a 3.84 G.P.A. in business, was selected to the Big South All-Conference first team as an infielder for the second time. The senior first baseman from Hoover, Alabama, finished the season with a .342 batting average and led the team in runs (40), hits (75), doubles (13), runs batted in (46) and total bases (113). Close is among Liberty’s all-time leaders in hits, home runs, RBI and doubles.
Panas, a senior physical education and health education major with a 3.77 G.P.A., helped lead Canisius to the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference tournament title and to the NCAA tournament. He was a first team all-MAAC selection and led the conference in runs batted in with 68. The Toronto, Ontario native was the 2014 conference player of the year. Panas finished the 2015 season with a .372 batting average and led the team in runs (67), hits (92) and RBI (68).
Blum, a senior second baseman from Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, was one of six in the league awarded the Ohio Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Award in November 2014. A three-time OVC Medal of Honor recipient, he received his undergraduate degree in finance in the spring of 2014 and will graduate with his master’s degree in business administration in December 2015. Blum hit .300 with two home runs and 32 RBI for the Redhawks this season.
Stewart, a junior from Yulee, Florida, maintains a 3.39 G.P.A. majoring in sport management. Stewart was named to the all-Atlantic Coast Conference first team for the second straight year. He led the Seminoles to the ACC and NCAA Tallahassee Regional championships. Stewart has started 62 games for the Seminoles and currently leads FSU in batting average (.322), runs scored, (59), home runs, (13), RBI (55), slugging percentage (.580), on-base percentage (.509) and walks (69). He is the national leader in walks and walks per game (1.11).
Parrish, a junior from McGee’s Crossroads, N.C., was named to the all-Big South second team after hitting .324 in conference play and .301 overall with one home run and 18 runs batted in this season. He is a two-time Big South All-Academic team honoree. Campbell finished the season 32-25 overall, securing its fourth-straight 30-win campaign.
Mortensen, a junior from Omaha, Nebraska, was the UNO baseball program's first Academic All-American, earning third-team honors in 2013. He maintains a 3.95 G.P.A. with a major in business administration and is a member of the UNO Chancellor's List (for 4.0 GPA). Mortensen was named to both all-Summit League and Academic All-Summit League teams in 2013. He hit .246 with 10 doubles, 23 runs scored and 33 RBI this season.
Joining Koenig, Close and Panas on the Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Baseball first team are pitchers,
Jacob Hendren of Illinois State University and
Benton Moss from the University of North Carolina, catcher
Drew Carlile of Bradley University, and infielders
Paul DeJong from Illinois State and
Tucker Tubbs of the University of Memphis. Making up the outfield are University of Tennessee at Martin’s
Taylor Douglas, University of Cincinnati’s
Ian Happ, while Wofford College’s
Matt Ramsay is the designated hitter.
Representing the Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Baseball second team with Blum, Stewart and Parrish are pitchers
Ryan Burr of Arizona State University and
Cole Lipscomb from Auburn University, catcher
Joey Roach of Georgia State; infielders,
Erik Payne from Virginia Tech University,
Reid Roper of the University of Illinois, and
Seth Heck from Mississippi State University and
Ryan Sebra of Jacksonville State University; outfielders,
Logan Brown of Baylor University and
Cole Gruber of Omaha, and designated hitter
Matt Parrish of Campbell University.
The 10-member Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Baseball third team consists of pitchers
Mike Compton of Florida State and
Jared Skolnicki of Kent State University and La Salle University catcher
Ryan Welling. Infielders include
Greg Kaiser of Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne,
John Rubino of Eastern Michigan and Mortensen of Omaha. Outfielders include
Ryan Boldt of the University of Nebraska,
Alex Call of Ball State University and
Josh Delph of Florida State, while
Tyler Girouard of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette is the designated hitter.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Jeff Schwartz, North Dakota State University (
Jeff.Schwartz@ndsu.edu) (701) 231-8332
Academic All-America ® Co-Vice-Chair for Publicity/Communications
Mike “Mex” Carey, Georgetown University (
Mex.Carey@georgetown.edu) (202) 687-2475
Academic All-America ® Coordinator of Publicity