Four PBC Baseball Players Named Academic All-Americans

TOWSON, MD – Four Peach Belt Conference baseball players were named Capitol One Academic All-Americans on Thursday.  UNC Pembroke’s Josh Haley and Eitan Maoz were selected along with Francis Marion’s Buddy Sosnoskie and Armstrong Atlantic State’s Clayton Miller.  The four players selected is – by far – the most the Peach Belt has ever had in a single season.  Only 10 league baseball players up to this year had received what is widely held as the the highest honor a student-athlete can receive.   The team is selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Haley and Maoz are the first two CoSIDA Academic All-Americans in the history of the baseball program in Pembroke. They are the second and third CoSIDA Academic All-Americans for the UNCP athletic department this year, joining men's soccer's Alex Antonescu who was decorated with the honor in December.

Haley, a Jackson Springs product who maintained a 3.50 grade point average as an Exercise & Sports Science major, started all 49 games and led the Braves with a .391 (77-for-197) batting average to go along with 19 extra-base hits (3 HR), 16 RBI and a team-best 61 runs scored. A force on the base paths, the senior ranked second in the PBC with 34 stolen bases (39 attempts) and also booked a .523 slugging percentage and a .474 on-base percentage. Defensively, he was solid from his starting centerfield position as well where he turned in a .985 fielding percentage.

Maoz, a native of Canada who maintained a 3.87 grade point average as an Exercise & Sports Science major, played in 38 games (37 starts) for UNCP and missed 2-1/2 weeks late in the season with a broken ankle. Regardless, the utility player still managed a .348 (48-for-138) batting average with 10 extra-base hits (3 HR), 32 RBI and 28 runs scored. He also scored 80 percent (8-for-10) on stolen base attempts, while also registering a .464 slugging percentage and a .421 on-base percentage. He, too, was a defensive stalwart, booking a .984 fielding percentage in a handful of starts in the outfield, as well as first base.

Sosnoskie becomes the third Academic All-American for the Patriot baseball program, joining right-handed pitcher Sammy Ward (1980) and outfielder Alex Lee (2010). The Statesville, N.C., native has compiled a 3.38 grade point average as a marketing major.  He was named to the 12-member second-team.

On the diamond, Sosnoskie led FMU with a .391 average, 56 runs batted in, and a .444 on-base percentage.  He set team single-season records for hits (92) and doubles (25).  He shared the team lead in runs scored (51), while also hitting a pair of home runs and stealing nine bases. He finished the year with a 12-game hitting streak, compiled 27 multi-hit games and 15 multi-RBIs games, and reached base safely in 53 of 58 games. In both his seasons at FMU, Sosnoskie garnered All-Conference and All-Region accolades.

Off the field, he was named to the 2012 Peach Belt Conference All-Academic Team; is a member of Chi Alpha Sigma, the national college athlete honor society; and has been honored by inclusion on the both the PBC Presidential and FMU Swamp Fox Athletic-Academic honor rolls.

Miller is the fourth Armstrong baseball player to earn Academic All-America honors from Capital One and CoSIDA, joining catchers Chris Milisits (1993), David Harriman (2002) and Michael Pelley (2004). He is also the fourth Academic All-America this year among Armstrong student-athletes and brings the all-time total of Pirates who have earned Academic All-America honors to 14.

Miller, who was named to the third team as a designated hitter, carries a 3.37 GPA in rehabilitation sciences. The Augusta, Ga., native hit .287 with one home run and 27 RBIs in 2012, helping Armstrong capture the Peach Belt Conference regular season and tournament titles.

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, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.

To view the complete list of 2012 Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-American Division II baseball honorees, please click here.