GREENWOOD, Ind. – Five Southern Conference baseball student-athletes have been named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District teams, the organization announced Thursday.
VMI pitcher Josh Winder and UNCG outfielder Andrew Moritz are the only two sophomores to earn spots on the District 3 team, while Mercer catcher Charlie Madden, Mercer infielder Hunter Bening and Wofford outfielder McClain Bradley were selected to the District 4 squad.
All five will now appear on the CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot. Academic All-America first, second and third teams will be announced later this month.
VMI's Winder is the second Keydet player to be named to the District 3 team in as many seasons, following David Geary's selection last season.
Winder, who carries a 4.0 GPA in economics and business, enters this weekend's series against UNCG with a 5-4 record, but his peripherals are much better than that would indicate. The sophomore holds a 3.35 ERA and has struck out 90 hitters – a total that ranks 10th in Division I – against just 15 walks. That strikeout-to-walk ratio is 26th in the country.
UNCG's Moritz owns a 3.99 GPA in accounting and has started 42 games in center field this season with a .390 batting average. The sophomore has a .395 career batting average, which ranks as the best batting average in school history (minimum 300 at-bats). Moritz is currently fourth in the country with six triples this season. The sophomore has scored a team-high 45 runs this season and has stolen a team-best 13 bases.
Last season, he earned Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American Status and was named to the Southern Conference All-Freshman Team.
Mercer's Madden, a catcher from Dunwoody, Georgia, will graduate next weekend with a degree in accounting. He has started all 47 games for the Bears this year and ranks sixth nationally with 16 home runs. Madden is a Perfect Game Midseason All-American and was named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List for a third consecutive year.
The Bears' Bening, a first baseman from Fayetteville, Georgia, will graduate next weekend with a degree in finance. He has committed only one error at first base defensively and owns a .997 fielding percentage while ranking 39th nationally and second in the SoCon with 12 home runs. His 39 RBIs are a career-best and rank fourth among the Bears.
Wofford's Bradley, a junior from Atlanta, Georgia, has started 30 games this season in the outfield for the Terriers. He leads the team in batting average at .368, which ranks sixth in the Southern Conference. He is fifth in the league in slugging percentage (.605) and fourth in on base percentage (.449). On the season he has 42 hits, 32 runs scored, six home runs and 29 RBIs. He also has 10 stolen bases and a .957 fielding percentage. Bradley is a double major in economics and finance.
Wofford has now had five baseball student-athletes honored in the last three years, with Bradley joining James Plaisted (2015), Matt Ramsey (2015), Derek Hirsch (2016) and Alec Paradowski (2016).
A student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average at his/her current institution to be nominated. Nominated athletes must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's games at the position listed on the nomination form (where applicable). In baseball and softball, pitchers must have at least 10.0 innings pitched. No student-athlete is eligible until he/she has completed one full calendar year at his/her current institution and has reached sophomore athletic eligibility.