Good grades and exceptional on-the-field performances have earned Morehead State baseball pitcher John Bakke an Academic All-America honor, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). He was named to the third-team.
The Huntsville, Ala., native is the eighth baseball student-athlete in program history to be named Academic All-America (and ninth award as Drew Lee was named twice). That is the most of any Eagle sport. Bakke was previously tabbed First-Team Academic All-District II.
The grad student has earned a perfect 4.0 GPA throughout his college career. Bakke was named Second-Team All-OVC after a season that saw him merge back and forth between the bullpen and a starter role on the mound.
Bakke finished with eighth saves, which ranks tied for third best in single-season program history. During the final month, Bakke also made four starts and was 2-0 in that role. He tossed a complete-game, three-hitter against UT Martin. He picked up his final save at Austin Peay as the Eagles clinched the third seed for the OVC Tournament.
Bakke was 4-3 with a 4.05 ERA and led MSU with 70 strikeouts in 60.0 innings pitched.
The Academic All-America program has honored thousands of student-athletes since its inception 70 years ago in 1952.
By Matt Schabert, Morehead State Athletic Media Relations.