July 26, 2016 Article from GOBLUERAIDERS.COM

BASEBALL WINS ABCA TEAM ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AWARD

SPRING GPA HIGHEST IN PROGRAM HISTORY

@MTAthletics

Photo of Baseball coach Jim McGuireMURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The Middle Tennessee baseball team was one of 29 Division I programs across the country to win the 2015-16 American Baseball Coaches Association Team Academic Excellence Award.

Baseball produced the highest GPA in a semester in program history, posting an outstanding 3.329 GPA in Spring 2016 under Head Coach Jim McGuire.

"It is special when you have a group of guys who will work hard and take their academics that seriously," McGuire said.  "To be one of 29 baseball programs to be recognized with the ABCA Academic Award, nationally, is a proud moment for the players and our program. What I like is it is a team award and takes all of their GPAs into account so it includes everyone in the program."

The baseball program is no stranger to academic success under McGuire. Earlier this month the team was awarded with the Sport Academic Award by Conference USA for the second year in a row.  This prestigious award is given to the team in each conference-sponsored sport with the highest grade point average for the academic year.

"(Academic Advisor) Wynnifred Counts deserves a lot of credit. She's behind the scenes but she works hard with our players," McGuire said. "Our players know it is important for themselves to be successful and earn a degree. That's why they are here."