AUSTIN, Texas – Two Eastern Kentucky University baseball players received the highest academic/athletic honor in college athletics last week. Nick Howie and Ryland Kerr were chosen to the 2019 Google Cloud Academic All-America® Baseball Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Howie, an outfielder, was one of 11 players from all NCAA Division I teams chosen to the Academic All-America® first team. Kerr was a second team pick as an infielder. The two Colonels were the only Ohio Valley Conference baseball players to earn Academic All-America® honors.
Eastern Kentucky has produced a first team Academic All-American® for three straight seasons. Eight Colonel baseball players have now combined to earn Academic All-America® honors 11 times. Jay Johnson and Robert Teague were two-time Academic All-Americans in 1990 and 1991. Howie, a third team Academic All-America® in 2018, is now a two-time honoree and is the fifth first team selection, joining Clay Elswick (1986), Teague (1990), Ben Fisher [ekusports.com] (2017) and Alex Holderbach (2018).
Howie was a first team All-OVC selection this season. He ranked third in the OVC with a .474 on-base percentage, third with 46 walks, fifth with a .353 average and tied for fifth with 16 stolen bases. He ranked 40th in the nation in walks and 49th in on-base percentage.
The junior from Oakville, Ontario led the team in batting average. He finished the season with 48 runs scored, 11 home runs, 12 doubles, 45 RBIs and 123 total bases.
In the classroom, Howie has a 4.0 grade-point-average while majoring in finance.
Kerr was chosen second team All-OVC this year. The redshirt senior hit .311 with 63 runs, 16 doubles, two home runs, 35 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. He finished second in the OVC in runs and tied for fifth in stolen bases. Kerr ranked 38th in the nation in runs.
The Bellevue, Washington native accumulated a 4.0 GPA while earning a degree in exercise and sport science.
The CoSIDA Academic All-America® program is considered the most prestigious athletics/academic honor a student-athlete can receive. Each year CoSIDA conducts the Academic All-America® program for a variety of sports.
To be nominated for Academic All-America honors, a student-athlete must carry at least a 3.3 cumulative grade-point-average (on a 4.0 scale) for his/her career. No athlete is eligible until he/she has reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at his/her current institution.
Fans can get a head start on the 2020 season by placing a non-refundable $40 deposit on season tickets that will be included in the overall price of the package. For questions or to place your deposit, call Alex Harrison [ekusports.com] at (859) 358-9272 or the EKUSports ticket office at 844-3-GOBIGE.
