ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) announced that Lewis University has earned the ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award. The award is given to any collegiate or high school baseball team – coached by a member of the ABCA – that registers at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average for the 2019-20 school year.
Lewis, led by head coach
Tim McDonough, checked in with a 3.40 GPA last year.
"I am so proud of the guys for what they accomplished academically," McDonough said. "In a crazy year where the season was cut short and having to adjust to online learning, our team really stepped up and handled every challenge in an incredible manner.
"It really speaks to the character and integrity this team has and it is a well-deserved honor. I would like to thank all of the professors and our Academic Services staff. There is no way we could've accomplished this without the resources and people helping out the way they did."
Coaches were able to nominate their teams for the ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award following the conclusion of their spring semesters prior to the nomination deadline of July 17. To be honored, teams had to meet the following criteria:
- Must be a high school or college team.
- Head coach must be a current ABCA member.
- Team must have a cumulative GPA of 3.00 on a 4.00 scale during the 2019-20 academic year. GPA may not be rounded up.
The American Baseball Coaches Association has a long tradition of recognizing the achievements of baseball coaches and student-athletes. The ABCA/Rawlings All-America Teams are the nation's oldest, founded in 1949, and the ABCA's awards program also includes the ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Awards, the ABCA/Diamond Regional and National Coaches of the ear and several other major awards such as the ABCA Hall of Fame and the Dave Keilitz Ethics in Coaching Award.
