Koenigsfeld, Cain Receive National Honor

Blazer duo named Academic All-America

VALDOSTA, Ga. - A pair of Valdosta State baseball players have been honored for their play on the field and work in the classroom as Jon Koenigsfeld and Clayton Cain were named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Koenigsfeld, a native of New Port Richey, Fla., was named to the first team squad after ending his Valdosta State career with a 4.00 grade point average as a Middle Grades Education major. Koenigsfeld, who was the VSU Dewar College of Education Student of the Year, batted .386 on the season while scoring 59 runs and driving in 47. He had a team-high 90 hits on the year, including 19 doubles. In addition to leading the team in hits, Koenigsfeld was second on the VSU squad in doubles and third in batting average, runs scored and RBI.

Koenigsfeld became just the third Valdosta State athlete to earn first team Academic All-America honors and the first since Chris Hatcher earned back-to-back first team selections in 1993 and 1994.

Cain, who hails from Snellville, Ga., was named to the third team squad after tallying a 3.47 G.P.A. as a General Studies major during his college career. A designated hitter this last season, Cain led the VSU squad with a .429 earned run average and matched Koenigsfeld with a team-high 90 hits. He was second on the team with 75 runs batted in as well as with 67 runs scored. He counted 20 home runs, second-most in the GSC, 11 doubles and one triple among his hits and finished the year with a .776 slugging percentage and a .516 on-base percentage, both second on the VSU team.

While excelling as individuals on the field and in the classroom, Koenigsfeld and Cain also directed the VSU squad to success on the field as the Blazers finished the year with a 43-17 record and won the Gulf South Conference championship for just the third time in school history. The squad also played in its second straight NCAA South Region Tournament.

Valdosta State was just one of four schools nationwide to have two players named to the three-team Academic All-America list, joining Scranton, Rose-Hulman and Thomas More. Cain and Koenigsfeld become just the 10th and 11th VSU players to earn Academic All-America honors since the program%u2019s inception in 1952.

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 and have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution. The voting consists of a regional vote, with the first team members of the advancing to the national ballot.

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