Two Bulldogs Earn Baseball Academic All-America Honors

June 5, 2001

NEW YORK, NY - Gonzaga University senior outfielder Jared Hertz has been named a first team Academic All-American, while sophomore second baseman Eric Rodland was accorded third team honors as selected by Verizon Communications and the College Sports Information Directors of America.

A native of La Verne, Calif., Hertz earned his second straight Academic All-America accolade after being a third team choice last season. Rodland, from Snohomish, Wash., was named for the first time.

The duo were instrumental in Gonzaga winning the Coast Division of the West Coast Conference and advancing to the WCC Championship series where the Bulldogs lost the best-of-three series to Coast Division champ Pepperdine University. Hertz and Rodland both started all 55 games for the Bulldogs. Hertz hit .326 for second on the team, was third in hits with 71 and second in RBI with 44. He has a 3.94 grade point average in finance. Rodland hit .320 for third on the squad and his 74 hits and 15 doubles were both second on the team. He had a .953 fielding percentage and was 8-for-11 in stolen base attempts. He has a 3.76 GPA in mechanical engineering.

Catcher Casey Myers of Arizona State University was named Team Member of the Year for the second straight season. A senior mathematics/economics major from Casa Grande, Ariz., Myers batted .395 this season, becoming only the third player in school history to amass 300 career hits. He also became only the third baseball player ever to be named Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year twice. This marks the third consecutive season Myers made the Verizon Academic All-America first team.

Two players who led their teams to berths in the upcoming College World Series - pitcher Jon Smith of Cal State-Fullerton, a senior from Nuevo, Calif., who maintained a perfect 4.00 GPA as an accounting major while posting a 10-2 record so far this season, and outfielder John Cole of the University of Nebraska (3.58/business administration), a junior from Ottawa, Ontario who is batting .417 with 28 stolen bases.

The Verizon Academic All-America Teams are selected by a vote of the 1,800-member CoSIDA. To be eligible, an athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve and maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 on a scale of 4.00. Sports information directors nominate eligible athletes from their schools who are named to district teams prior to being voted upon on the national level. CoSIDA has been selecting Academic All-America teams since 1952.

Verizon Communications is one of the world's leading providers of communications services. Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with nearly 109 million access line equivalents and more than 27.5 million wireless customers.

Following is a complete list of the 2001 Verizon Academic All-America Baseball Team.

2001 VERIZON ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA? BASEBALL TEAMS


 UNIVERSITY DIVISION
First TeamPos.  Name              School             Yr.   Hometown             GPA/Major
P     Mike Naumann      Notre Dame         Sr.   Tucson, Ariz.        3.92/Pre-Professional Science
P     Jon Smith         Cal St.-Fullerton  Sr.   Nuevo, Calif.        4.00/Accounting
C     Casey Myers*      Arizona State      Sr.   Casa Grande, Ariz.   3.97/Mathematics/Economics
INF   Mike DeRenzo      Penn State         Jr.   Murrysville, Pa.     3.68/Computer Engineering
INF   Chad Ehrnsberger  Central Florida    Sr.   Ottawa, Ohio         3.60/Sports Administration
INF   Kevin Kirkby      St. Joseph's (PA)  Sr.   River Vale, N.J.     3.48/Mathematics
INF   Russ Lindberg     Bucknell           Sr.   Cleveland Hts., Ohio 3.58/Finance
OF    John Cole         Nebraska           Jr.   Ottawa, Ontario      3.58/Business Administration
OF    Jared Hertz       Gonzaga            Sr.   La Verne, Calif.     3.94/Finance
OF    Bryan Scheurer    Central Michigan   Sr.   Portland, Mich.      3.91/Elementary Education
DH    Jim Reilly        St. Joseph's (PA)  Sr.   Pittsburgh, Pa.      3.96/Chemistry

Second Team


P     Sam Narron        East Carolina      So.   Goldsboro, N.C.      3.93/Biology
P     Pete Smart        Kansas             Gr.   Omaha, Neb.          3.62/Business Administration
C     Joe Hietpas       Northwestern       Sr.   Appleton, Wis.       3.81/Economics
INF   Dave Blomberg     Purdue             Sr.   Brookfield, Wis.     3.58/Organizational Comm.
INF   Dan Lawler        Creighton          Sr.   Rochester, Minn.     3.50/Accounting
INF   Derin McMains     Ark.-Little Rock   Sr.   Mountain Home, Ark.  3.66/Radio, TV, Film
INF   Craig Tewes       Cincinnati         Sr.   Erlanger, Ky.        3.40/Operations Management
OF    Gabe Gross        Auburn             Jr.   Dothan, Ala.         3.44/Business
OF    Greg Landis       Monmouth           Sr.   Royersford, Pa.      3.83/Business Administration
OF    Jeff Leise        Nebraska           So.   Omaha, Neb.          3.95/Psychology
DH    Cliff Godwin      East Carolina      Sr.   Snow Hill, N.C.      3.65/Business Administration

Third Team


P     Wes Self          Davidson           Sr.   Independence, Va.    3.89/Biology/Pre-Medicine
P     Eric Weltmer      Md.-Baltimore Cty. Sr.   New Cumberland, Pa.  3.28/Geography
C     Chris Netwall     Penn State         Sr.   Allentown, Pa.       3.27/Mechanical Engineering
INF   Matt Deckman      Ball State         Jr.   Parker City, Ind.    3.92/Exercise Science
INF   Jeff Eure         Old Dominion       Jr.   Pillow, Pa.          3.97/Health/Physical Education
INF   Ryan Kyes         Ohio               Sr.   White Lake, Mich.    3.31/Business
INF   Eric Rodland      Gonzaga            So.   Snohomish, Wash.     3.76/Mechanical Engineering
OF    Ryan Brunner      Northern Iowa      Sr.   Charles City, Iowa   3.37/Mathematics
OF    Brian Stavisky    Notre Dame         So.   Port Allegany, Pa.   3.69/Business
OF    David Stone       Virginia           Jr.   Frederick, Md.       3.91/Biology
DH    Beau Hearod       Alabama            So.   Jennings, La.        4.00/Business
* Verizon Academic All-America Team Member of the Year

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Two Bulldogs Earn Baseball Academic All-America Honors

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