CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Army West Point senior Kris Lindner was selected as the Corvias Patriot League Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year and earned one of 12 spots on the Academic All-Patriot League baseball team on Friday, prior to the beginning of the Patriot League Baseball Tournament.
Lindner is one of five student-athletes selected to the academic all-League team for the second time. Lafayette senior Alex Woinski, Lehigh senior David Young and Navy junior Stephen Born were all selected to the team last year, while Lehigh senior Jacen Nalesnik was selected in 2015.
Army West Point sophomore Cam Opp, Bucknell sophomore Jeff Gottesman and junior Keifer Rawlings, Holy Cross senior Joe Cravero, Lafayette senior Trevor Houck and junior Luke Robinson and Lehigh senior Connor Donovan all make the academic all-League team for the first time.
The Scholar-Athlete and Academic All-Patriot League honors are voted on by the League’s baseball sports information directors.
Lindner, a two-time First Team All-Patriot League selection, makes his second appearances on the academic all-League squad. The senior second baseman batted .282 with three home runs and 32 RBIs, 11 doubles and three triples overall. He batted .322 in 19 Patriot League games. The two-time captain also carries a 3.389 grade point average (GPA) majors in systems engineering and earned the “golden wreath” on his military uniform as the Superintendent’s Award for Achievement to distinguish his top 15-percent ranking across all three pillars. He earned the Master of the Sword’s Award, given to cadets who received over a 3.667 Physical GPA.
He is joined on the team by Opp, who posted a 4-2 record while pitching 39.1 innings over the course of the season. Opp carries a 3.732 GPA in civil engineering
Gottesman has a 3-4 record and one save over 51.2 innings pitched for Bucknell, while holding a 4.0 GPA in the school of management. Rawlings, who batted .257 with four home runs and 28 RBIs during the season, also carries a 3.57 GPA in accounting and financial management.
Holy Cross senior pitcher Joe Cravero finished the regular season 3-3 with one save and a 4.47 ERA over 52.1 innings, leading the Crusaders with 51 strikeouts. The two-time Patriot League Academic Honor Roll selection has a 3.26 cumulative GPA in economics.
Lafayette tied for the Patriot League lead with three players on the academic all-League team. Senior pitcher Trevor Houck held a 3.95 ERA in League play, while holding a 3.79 GPA as a civil engineering major. He is a member of the engineering honor society at Lafayette and has made Dean’s list in every semester over his four years. Junior outfielder Luke Robinson batted .260 with six home runs and 30 RBIs, while also carrying a 3.81 GPA in economics and government & law. Woinski earns his second academic all-League honor carrying a 3.63 GPA in neuroscience. He also batted .288 with five home runs and 21 RBIs, while batting .383 in League play. Woinski is a three-time academic honor roll selection.
Lehigh also had three players selected to the academic all-League team, including senior outfield Jacen Nalesnik. Nalesnik is a two-time all-League selection, who led the League and tied the Mountain Hawks single-season record with 13 home runs. He batted .321 and drove in 39 runs during the season, while also carrying a 3.41 GPA as a history major. Senior first baseman David Young was a second team all-League selection after batting .303 with seven home runs and 34 RBIs during the regular season. In the classroom, Young has a 3.39 GPA as a finance major. Senior Connor Donovan made the all-League first team as a designated hitter and the second team as a pitcher, while batting .280 with eight home runs and 30 RBIs at the plate, and going 3-1 with a 1.88 ERA on the mount. He also carries a 3.37 GPA as a finance major.
Navy junior Stephen Born batted .291 with two home runs and 36 RBIs, while holding a 3.71 GPA in operations research. Born was a 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-American Third Team selection after making the Naval Academy’s Commandant’s List in each of his five semesters on campus.
The Corvias Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year for each individual sport comprises the pool of nominees for the Corvias Patriot League Male and Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year awards given out over the summer. One male and one female are selected for this honor.
Corvias Patriot League Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Kris Lindner, Army West Point, (Sr.)
Baseball Academic All-Patriot League Team
Kris Lindner, Army West Point (Sr.)*
Cam Opp, Army West Point (So.)
Jeff Gottesman, Bucknell (So.)
Keifer Rawlings, Bucknell (Jr.)
Joe Cravero, Holy Cross (Sr.)
Trevor Houck, Lafayette (Sr.)
Luke Robinson, Lafayette (Jr.)
Alex Woinski, Lafayette (Sr.)*
Jacen Nalesnik, Lehigh (Sr.)*
David Young, Lehigh (Sr.)*
Connor Donovan, Lehigh (Sr.)
Stephen Born, Navy (Jr.)*