May 25, 2010

Patriot outfielder Alex Lee named Academic All-American

Francis Marion University senior outfielder Alex Lee has been named to the 2010 ESPN The Magazine® Academic All-America (College Division) baseball team. Lee was named to the 10-member second team.

Lee, a native Blythewood, S.C., is the second Academic All-American in the history of the baseball program, joining 1980 pitcher Sammy Ward.  Lee is the third Patriot student-athlete (from all sports) to earn this type of national academic honor for 2009-10 – with several sports yet to be announced.

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 (College Sports Information Directors of America) has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.

Lee, who recently earned the B.S. degree in mathematics (summa cum laude), compiled a 4.00 grade point average.

On the diamond, he batted .314 this past season with 36 runs scored, nine doubles, two triples, five home runs, and 26 runs batted in. He compiled a .385 on-base percentage, was 8-of-12 in stolen bases, and recorded a .969 fielding percentage with three outfield assists.  He had 15 multi-hit games and six multi-RBIs games in 2010, while safely reaching base in 38 of 46 games.

In the academic arena, Lee received the Mathematics Award at the school’s annual Academic Awards Day ceremony.  He is a member of Chi Alpha Sigma national college athlete honor society, and was named to the Peach Belt Conference Presidential Honor Roll in 2009 and to the FMU Swamp Fox Athletic-Academic Honor Roll for both 2010 and 2009. He was placed on the President’s List all four of his semesters at FMU.  While attending Clemson University as a freshman and sophomore, he was named to the 2007 All-ACC Academic Team.

He helped FMU to a 40-14 record and a second straight appearance in the NCAA Division II National Tournament.  The 40 victories is the second-highest season total in team history.

Lee is a product of Blythewood High School, where he earned All-State recognition.

 
 
2010 ESPN THE MAGAZINE Academic All-America ®
College Division Baseball Team as selected by CoSIDA
FIRST TEAM
Pos. Name                       School                   Yr.    Hometown               GPA Major
P     David Goerold             Clarkson                  Jr.    Clifton Park, N.Y.         4.00   Financial Information Analysis
P     Matt Schuld (3)          St. Thomas (Minn.)  Sr.    Plymouth, Minn.         3.69   Business Administration
C     John Swarr                Johns Hopkins          Sr.    Radnor, Pa.                3.45   Applied Math & Statistics, Econ.
INF  Brandon Cogan         Mo. Science & Tech.  Sr.    Missouri City, Tex.      3.95   Electrical Engineering
INF  Chris Fishburn (3)    Thomas More            Sr.    Cincinnati, Ohio          3.96   Sports Entertainment & Marketing
INF  Jon Koenigsfeld        Valdosta State           Sr.    New Port Richey, Fla.  4.00   Middle Grades Education
INF  Andrew Whittington Southern Arkansas    Sr.    Texas City, Tex.         3.93   Physical Ed./Wellness & Leisure
OF   Justin Champagne    Scranton                   Sr.    Mt. Bethel, Pa.           3.88   Economics
OF   Camden Mamigonian (2)    Rensselaer Polytechnic  Sr.    Dover, N.H.   3.71   Physics
OF   Ryan Schisler           Coe                           Sr.    Morrison, Ill.               3.97   History
OF   Chris Stallone (3)     Scranton                   Jr.     South Plains, N.J.       3.95   Finance
DH   Brett Sandford         Redlands                   Gr.    Santa Barbara, Cal.    3.62   Philosophy / MBA
SECOND TEAM
Pos. Name                     School                     Yr.   Hometown               GPA Major
P     Pat Kennedy             Washington & Jefferson Jr.   Westerville, Ohio     3.94   Chemistry
P     Brad Rutherford       Abilene Christian        Jr.    Missoula, Mont.          4.00   Physics
C     Brock Whiteman(2) Muskingum                Sr.   New Concord, Ohio      3.70   Special Education
INF  Blake Cover            Nebraska-Kearney      Sr.   Kearney, Neb.             3.84   Business Administration
INF  Dustin Dubensky   Penn State Behrend    Sr.   Punxsutawney, Pa.     3.68   Plastics Engineering Tech.
INF  Brian Hiscox (1)     Otterbein                    Sr.   Burton, Ohio               3.83   Broadcasting & Public Rel.
INF  Nathan Stein         Rochester                   Sr.   Rochester, N.Y.           3.43   Financial Economics
OF   Alex Lee                 Francis Marion            Sr.   Blythewood, S.C.         4.00   Mathematics
OF   Kyle Pope               East Texas Baptist      Sr.   Longview, Texas         3.91   Accounting
DH   Kirk Thompson      Rose-Hulman              Sr.   Harrisburg, Ill.            3.83   Applied Biology
THIRD TEAM
Pos. Name                   School                       Yr.   Hometown              GPA  Major
P     Michael Colebrook   Assumption                 Sr.   Leicester, Mass.        3.97   French & Philosophy
P     Dexter Spitsnogle   Doane                         Jr.    Odell, Neb.                 3.87   Mechanical Engineering,  Physics
P     Greg Van Sickler     Shenandoah                Jr.    Stephenson, Va.        3.54   Business Administration
C     Patrick Farrell         Regis                          Sr.    Cheyenne, Wyo.        3.43   Exercise Science & Biology
INF  Brian Collins          Shepherd                    Jr.    Martinsburg, W.Va.    3.79   Elementary Education
INF  Steven Dannaway Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Sr.  Honolulu, Hawaii      3.61   Physics
INF  Chandler Kent       Rose-Hulman              Sr.    Antioch, Ill.               3.83   Computer Science
INF  Taylor Sibala         Pittsburg State            Jr.    Overland Park, Kan.   4.00   Mechanical Engineering
OF   Marty Kersting      Thomas More              Sr.    Cincinnati, Ohio         3.72   Accounting
OF   Ryan Nokelby        Texas Lutheran          Sr.    Santa Fe, Tex.           3.68   Physics
OF   Julian Sonnenfeld  Wesleyan                   Jr.    Aberdeen, N.J.            3.94   Biology (Pre-Med)
DH   Clayton Cain         Valdosta State            Sr.    Snellville, Ga.            3.47   General Studies

 

Academic All-America of the Year: Matt Schuld, St. Thomas (Minn.)

 

(1)   ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America 1st team selection in 2009
(2)   ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America 2nd team selection in 2009
(3)   ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America 3rd team selection in 2009

           Alex Lee