DeGraaf and West Earn Academic All-District Status

Capital One Academic All-District Baseball Teams I TU Honors Page

UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor University's Josh DeGraaf and Jake West were each recently named to the Capital One Academic All-District II First-Team for baseball, as voted on and announced by the College of Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

The award is designed to recognize student-athletes for outstanding achievements in the classroom, as well as on the field or court of play. In order to be eligible for the honor, an athlete must have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.30 or higher on a 4.0 scale, must have reached sophomore status academically with one full year at the current institution of enrollment and must have participated in over half of the team's competitions during the current season.

DeGraaf was selected as a First-Team Academic All-District performer for the third-straight year and is a two-time Capital One Academic All-America selection. The Morris, Illinois native owns a cumulative grade-point average of 3.92 in psychology and capped his collegiate career with an 8-2 record on the mound, 81 strikeouts to just 11 walks and a miniscule 1.80 earned-run average over 75.0 innings of work for the Trojans during his senior season.

West was named First-Team Academic All-District for the first time, boasting a 3.47 cumulative grade-point average in sport management. The Rensselear, Indiana native played in all 53 games for Taylor, starting 52 of those contests. West batted .345 and posted a .418 on-base percentage, while scoring 26 times, homering twice and driving in 32 runs.

Taylor University claimed two of the 11 available spots on the Academic All-District II Team, joining Saint Francis (IL) and Cumberland as the only schools with multiple selections from the district consisting of institutions from Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana and Tennessee.

DeGraaf and West boost Taylor's total number of student-athletes to receive Academic All-District honors during the 2014-2015 year to 18. The duo will now be placed on the national ballot for the Capital One Academic All-America Team, which will be announced on June 1.