ST. LOUIS, MO. ? Indiana State senior baseball player Chris Schmidt has been named to the 2008 Missouri Valley Conference Baseball Scholar-Athlete First Team. Schmidt has a 3.93 grade point average while majoring in Computer Hardware Technology.
Schmidt had previously been named to the ESPN The Magazine District V All-Academic First Team and a member of the second team in the MVC All-Conference selections.
The Sycamore senior finished the season with a team high .374 batting average and was one of just two ISU players who played and started in all 50 games this past season. He had 17 extra base hits (10 doubles, three triples and four home runs), 41 RBI and a .505 slugging percentage that was second best on the team.
Schmidt was also 21-of-24 in stolen bases, most on the team during the 2008 season. He also had a .985 fielding percentage, second best on team, with 129 put outs.
For his career at Indiana State, Schmidt finished with a .340 batting average, playing in 170 games and starting in 158. He was 62-of-73 in stolen bases.
Bradley's Eitan Barbalat and Wichita State's Rob Musgrave headlined the voting for the 2008 Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete Teams. Both Barbalat and Musgrave were unanimous selections by league Sports Information Directors.
MVC Pitcher of the Year Tim Clubb is one of four student-athletes representing Missouri State on the first team. Wichita State earned three spots, Bradley two and Southern Illinois, Northern Iowa and Indiana State earned one each.
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 3.00 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.
A total of 38 student-athletes were nominated for scholar-athlete honors.
First Team
*Eitan Barbalat Senior Bradley 4.00 Cell and Molecular Biology
Grant Escue Junior Bradley 4.00 Politcal Science
Darin Ruf Junior Creighton 3.40 Finanace
Chris Schmidt Senior Indiana State 3.93 Computer Hardware Technology
Ben Carlson Sophomore Missouri State 3.90 General Business
Tim Clubb Sophomore Missouri State 3.30 Advertising and Promotion
Ryan Mantle Junior Missouri State 3.78 Insurance and Risk Management
Chris Playter Junior Missouri State 3.81 Communications
Taylor Sinclair Senior UNI 3.73 Geography
Mark Kelly Junior Southern Illinois 3.11 Recreation
Andy Dirks Senior Wichita State 3.18 General Studies
Dusty Coleman Sophomore Wichtia State 3.44 Business Administration
*Rob Musgrave Senior Wichita State 3.76 Accounting
* Unanimous Selection
Honorable Mention
Robbie Knight Sophomore Creighton 3.43 Accounting
Michael Lam Senior Creighton 3.66 Biology/Pre-Med
T.J. Roemmich Sophomore Creighton 3.90 Economics
Alex Acheson Sophomore Evansville 3.41 Business Management
Josh Mazzola Senior Missouri State 3.61 Communications
Ben Woodbury Junior Missouri State 3.13 Hospitality and Restaurant Admin
Clint McKeever Sophomore Wichita State 3.61 Chemistry
