Tusculum’s Dustin Morrow Named To Baseball Academic All-America Team

NOTRE DAME, Ind. --- Tusculum College first baseman Dustin Morrow has been named to the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® College Division Baseball First Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Morrow becomes the second player in the program's history to earn Academic All-America® recognition, but the first to garner First Team honors. He is also the eighth Tusculum student-athlete since 2000 to be named an Academic All-American®, but only the second to be a First Teamer. Women's soccer standout Denise Fliesser earned Academic All-America® First Team accolades twice in 2004 and 2005.

Morrow, a native of Lexington, Ky., graduated from Tusculum earlier this month with a cumulative grade point average of 3.94 in Secondary Math Education. The Paul Dunbar High School graduate posted a .373 batting average in a season that was halted midway due to an injury suffered against Carson-Newman in March. The two-time All-South Atlantic Conference selection posted seven doubles, four home runs and 22 RBI. For his efforts, he was named to the American Baseball Coaches Association's Division II All-South Region Second Team.

He wrapped up his Tusculum career with 662 career put outs, which are the fourth most in school history, while his .985 career fielding percentage is ranked in the top 10 in the TC record book.

The two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District selection was named the 2008 SAC Scholar Athlete for Baseball, becoming the fifth Pioneer in the last eight years to earn this prestigious honor.

The Pioneers posted a 41-15 record in 2008 and are currently ranked 30th in the nation. Tusculum advanced to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight year and the fourth time in the last six seasons. The Pioneers earned their way into the national postseason by winning the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament.

To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 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 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.

2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Baseball College

College Division
First Team

Pos. Name School
P Christopher Mock Greensboro
P Tyler Whitaker Rogers State
C Jason Sherrer Mount Olive
IF Bryan Cook Nova Southeastern
IF Dustin Walls Incarnate Word
IF Jared Thoele Illinois College
IF Dustin Morrow Tusculum
OF Gabe MacDougall Lynn
OF Andrew Frezza Barry
OF Rob Pietroforte Johns Hopkins
DH Robby Finnell Univ. of the Ozarks

Second Team

Pos. Name School
P Jason Decker Mt. Vernon Nazarene
P Ryan Kealy Johns Hopkins
P James Clear Denison
C Ryan Tryt Rochester Inst. Tech.
IF Brandon Mauck Otterbein
IF Cory Clark Nova Southeastern
IF Brent Voorhees McMurry
IF William Kropp New Jersey
OF Brian Majors Emporia State
OF David Nypaver Thiel
OF Shane Wolf Ithaca
DH Dan Kozloski Regis

Third Team

Pos. Name School
P Michael Matsui Rose-Hulman
C Tony Petulla Penn State-Altoona
IF Daniel Poindexter Greensboro
IF Jonas Fester Johns Hopkins
IF Justin Champagne Scranton
IF Neal Allar Amherst
OF Richard Hurd Rhodes
OF Dan Morrison Thiel
OF Cody Kidd Baldwin-Wallace
DH Mike Broccolino St. Mary's (Md.)