Two C-USA Baseball Players Named Academic All-Americans

Sam Narron

A pair of Conference USA players were named to the Verizon Academic All-America® Baseball Teams, as announced following voting by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). East Carolina junior lefthander Sam Narron was named a second team academic All-American, while Tulane senior infielder James Jurries was selected as a third team All-American.

Narron, a junior left-handed pitcher from Goldsboro, N.C., has a 3.75 Grade Point Average as a biology major with a chemistry minor. He posted an 8-3 record with a 2.98 ERA and ranks sixth on ECU`s career victories list with 26.

This was the third academic achievement award Narron received this year. Earlier he was named ECU`s Outstanding Male Scholar Athlete of the Year and the Conference USA Baseball Scholar Athlete of the Year. He has also contributed community service work to the children`s hospital and ALS fundraisers.

Jurries, the 2002 Conference USA Player of the Year and second-team TPX/Louisville Slugger All-American, earned the distinction after posting a 3.44 grade point average in the spring semester to raise his cumulative GPA to 3.32. The number increases to an impressive 3.77 mark in Tulane's prestigious A.B. Freeman School of Business. In the fall, Jurries earned Dean's List recognition with a 3.83 GPA in finance.

Jurries becomes Tulane baseball's fifth Academic All-America, the first since 1994 when David Stewart earned the distinction, and is the first player in the history of Green Wave Athletics to earn both academic and athletic All-America honors in the same season.

On the field, Jurries became the first player since 1985 to hit .400 for the year and became Tulane baseball's first-ever 20-30 player with 20 home runs and 30 stolen bases. He also led the team with 77 runs scored, 96 hits, four triples, 74 RBI, 180 total bases, a .750 slugging percentage, a .493 on-base percentage and 43 walks while tallying 16 doubles.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Verizon Academic All-America program, which was founded by CoSIDA in 1952 to recognize collegiate student-athletes for their outstanding achievements in the classroom and on the playing field. Over the past 50 years, the Verizon Academic All-America program has grown into one of the most recognized and prestigious collegiate scholar-athlete awards nationwide, honoring student-athletes from all NCAA championship sports.


2002 VERIZON ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAÒ BASEBALL TEAM

University Division First Team

Pos. Name School Yr. Hometown
P Lance Cormier Alabama Sr. Lafayette, La.
P Randy Corn The Citadel Sr. Blythwood, S.C.
C Derek Johnson Columbia Sr. Pompton Plains, N.J.
C Chris Westervelt Stetson So. Batesville, Ark.
IF Matt Deckman Ball St. Gr. Parker City, Ind.
IF Mike DeRenzo Penn St. Sr. Murrysville, Pa.
IF David Licini New Mexico St. Sr. Granger, Ind.
IF Ryan Schade Western Carolina Sr. Lewisburg, Pa.
OF Tom Beechem Dayton Jr. Park Hills, Ky.
OF Charles Bilezikjian St. John’s Sr. Staten Island, N.Y.
OF Jeff Leise* Nebraska Jr. Omaha, Neb.
DH Todd Crawford Seton Hall Sr. Millersville, Pa.

University Division Second Team

P Shane Komine Nebraska Sr. Honolulu, Hawaii
P Sam Narron East Carolina Jr. Goldsboro, N.C.
P Steve Rowe Texas Tech Sr. Houston, Texas
IF Matthew Boggs Georgia Tech Sr. Dalton, Ga.
IF Andrew Bushey Notre Dame Sr. Boardman, Ohio
IF Chris O’Riordan Stanford Sr. San Diego, Calif.
IF Jim Swenson Elon Sr. Richmond, Va.
OF Gregg Davies Towson Sr. Olney, Md.
OF Josh Phifer Air Force Jr. Torrington, Wyo.
OF David Stone Virginia Sr. Frederick, Md.
DH Jason Cooper Stanford Jr. Moses Lake, Wash.

University Division Third Team

P John Corcoran Butler Sr. Minooka, Ill.
C Ran Prince McNeese St. Jr. Sulpher, La.
IF Adam Howes Air Force Jr. Phoenix, Ariz.
IF James Jurries Tulane Sr. Lake Jackson, Texas
IF Eric Rodland Gonzaga Jr. Snohomish, Wash.
IF Travis Welsch Northern Iowa Sr. Muscatine, Iowa
OF Josh Brummett Belmont Jr. Owensboro, Kent.
OF Tim Frend Davidson Sr. Cumberland Foreside, Me.
OF Eddie Scott Albany Sr. Kingston, N.Y.
OF Brian Stavisky Notre Dame Jr. Port Allegheny, Pa.
DH Beau Hearod Alabama Jr. Jennings, La.

* Verizon Academic All-AmericaÒ Team Member of the Year – University Division