ST. LOUIS – Indiana State seniors
Collin Liberatore and
Tyler Grauer have been named to the 2020 Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Team; the League office announced Thursday.
Liberatore earned First Team honors for the second consecutive season after a breakout 2019 campaign when he earned MVC Newcomer of the Year. In a shortened 2020 season, the Greensburg, Pennsylvania native made four starts and finished with a 2-1 record. He pitched 20 innings and recorded a 4.95 ERA while striking out 11 and holding the opposition to a .214 average against. The right-hander holds a 3.66 GPA in communications.
Grauer, a Shawnee, Kansas product, earned Honorable Mention accolades for the second-straight season after making six relief appearances in 2020. A left-hander, Grauer earned a team-high five saves which also tied for the best in the MVC. He struck out 22 and did not issue a walk over 10.1 innings en route to a 1.74 ERA. A sports management major, Grauer holds a 3.50 GPA.
Of those on the Scholar-Athlete Team, 11 of the 13 first-team spots are held by seniors, while two juniors complete the makeup of the squad. Seven league schools are represented on the first team, with an additional eight student-athletes named to the honorable mention team. A total of 38 student-athletes were nominated for scholar-athlete honors.
The criteria for the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Team voting parallels the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) standards for Academic All-America voting. Nominees must be starters or important reserves, with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average. Student-athletes must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution and must have completed at least one full academic year at their institution.
The Valley's scholar-athlete team is voted on by the league's baseball sports information directors.
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