GREENSBORO, N.C. – Alabama A&M baseball handled business in the classroom while performing on the field as they earned a spot on the 2021-22 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Team Academic Excellence Award list.
 
In order to be on the prestigious list a team must acquire an overall grade point average of 3.0 or higher and the Bulldogs registered a 3.31 GPA.
 
AAMU is in select company amongst 117 Division I schools including Tennessee, Brown, Yale and Florida. They are only one of three schools selected from the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) joining Alabama State and Bethune-Cookman.
 
A total of 26 student-athletes from Alabama A&M had a GPA of 3.0 or higher and sophomore infielder Chandler Stocking (Midway, Utah), sophomore pitcher Jason Marono (Miami, Fla.), junior infielder Trevor Berkemeyer (North Las Vegas, Nev.) and senior Tim Dixon (Debary, Fla.) all finished with a perfect 4.0 mark.
 
The ABCA has a historic tradition of recognizing the achievements of baseball coaches and student-athletes, being the nation's oldest such organization, founded in 1949.
 
"Academics is important to myself and our department," said head coach Elliott Jones. "We try to make sure our student-athletes understand that they are students first. We're happy that our kids are able to strive in the classroom and on the field."
 
The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), founded in 1945, is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. Its' over 13,000 members represent all 50 states and 36 countries.
 
Since its initial meeting of 27 college baseball coaches in June 1945, Association membership has broadened to include nine divisions: NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA, Pacific Association Division, High School, Youth and Travel Baseball.