AUSTIN, Texas – UNCG sophomore Andrew Moritz and Mercer seniors Charlie Madden and Hunter Bening were named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans on Friday, with Moritz earning first-team honors and Madden and Bening taking second-team distinction.
Moritz's selection marks the first time in program history a Spartan baseball player has earned first-team Academic All-America honors.
An accounting major from Charlotte, North Carolina, he earned a 3.99 grade point average. On the field, the sophomore hits at a .390 average and holds the school record with a .394 career average. Moritz currently leads the team with 20 stolen bases and is fourth all-time with 13 career triples. He has started 97 games in a Spartan uniform, all in centerfield. A standout defensively, Moritz has made SportsCenter Top Ten plays in March and made a leaping catch with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth to preserve a 13-12 victory over Wofford.
This is the second time in program history Mercer has placed two student-athletes on the CoSIDA All-America teams, as Madden and Bening join Derrick Workman and Michael Massi, who were 2014 Capital One Academic All-America first-team members. Six Mercer baseball student-athletes in total have received academic All-America honors.
Madden, a catcher from Dunwoody, Georgia, graduated with a degree in accounting earlier this month. He started all 56 games for the Bears and finished his senior campaign with 17 home runs and 56 RBIs while dominating behind the dish defensively with a .992 fielding percentage. Madden was named a Perfect Game Midseason All-American and earned a spot on the Johnny Bench Award Watch list for the third straight year.
Bening, a first baseman from Fayetteville, Georgia, graduated earlier this month with a degree in finance. He slugged 12 home runs in his 40 total hits and amassed 39 RBIs while holding down first base defensively with a .998 fielding percentage. He started 54 of a total 56 games played.
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 and have earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors to qualify for All-America status.