Record five Eagles named CSC Academic All-District
ORLANDO, Fla. – For the first time in program history, five Carson-Newman baseball players were named to the 2023 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team. Pitchers Hunter Harritan and Grif Hughes joined position players Spencer Bright, Zach Boze and Ben Willcoxon.
ORLANDO, Fla. – For the first time in program history, five Carson-Newman baseball players were named to the 2023 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team. Pitchers Hunter Harritan and Grif Hughes joined position players Spencer Bright, Zach Boze and Ben Willcoxon.
Boze repeats on the roster after being one of two Eagles with Kilian Daughtry to earn the laurel last season. Tyler Thompson was named to the team in 2019 later becoming a second-team Academic All-American. Greg Valentine took home the laurel in 2019, Brandon Roberts secured the honor in 2016, Paul Kirby was tabbed in 2017 and Dillon Cate in 2018. Kirby and Cate were later honored as Academic All-Americans joining Brandon Burchfield in 2006 and 2007 as C-N baseball athletes earning the nation's top academic-athlete honor.
Putting the finishing touches on his career, Boze produced 19 homers and 109 RBIs over four years capping his career by hitting .281 with seven RBIs in the final month of the seasons.
Bright played a key defensive role for the roster in 2023 seeing time in 37 games tallying two hits and an RBI in the team's upset of No. 15 Lenoir-Rhyne in the second game of the series on April 15.
Harritan logged 34 innings fanning 33 batters earning five wins and a save over 17 appearances. In his final 19 innings of the year, the right-hander struck out 18 and allowed just five earned runs.
Hughes registered 24 appearances, one of the top marks in the country, picking up five wins and two saves striking out 10.8 batters per nine innings.
Willcoxon was integral utility player getting on the field in 33 games reaching base at a .405 clip for the year. In the final three games of the year, he went 4-for-11 with three runs scored and an RBI.
The 2023 Academic All‐District Baseball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student‐athletes for their combined performances on the diamond and in the classroom. Academic All‐District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All‐America ballot. First‐, second and third‐team Academic All‐America honorees will be announced June 7.
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