Notebook: Baseball Registers 11th Straight Semester with 3.0 GPA or Higher
January 16, 2017 | Baseball, Academic Services
Cardinals return to campus, complete opening week of preseason preparations for 2017 season
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - As the University of Louisville baseball team was making significant progress on the field during its 2016 fall workouts, the Cardinals also maintained their impressive work in the classroom registering a cumulative team GPA of 3.0 or better for the 11th consecutive semester. The notable stretch of academic success has covered five-and-a-half years overall since starting with fall semester in 2011.
"We place a significant emphasis in our baseball program on the importance of succeeding in the classroom and the value of earning a degree from the University of Louisville," said Cardinals head coach Dan McDonnell. "We take a lot of pride in how we perform academically and the players understand early in the recruiting process what we expect from them, not only on the field, but also in the classroom and as members of this community."
The span of 11 straight semesters with a team GPA of 3.0 or better includes the 2013 and 2014 seasons, which culminated with back-to-back appearances at the College World Series. In each of those trips to Omaha, the Cardinals received the CWS Academic Award for having the highest team GPA of the eight programs advancing to the pinnacle of collegiate baseball.
CARDINALS COMPLETE FIRST WEEK OF PRESEASON PREPARATIONS
The Louisville baseball team returned to campus last week and officially kicked off preseason preparations for 2017. As the spring semester began with classes last Monday, the Cardinals also commenced its team activities that day with a morning shuttle run at the Trager Center. The team used the first week of activities working in defensive groups, hitting groups and pitching groups along with the strength and conditioning program. The first official team practice for the 2017 season is set for Friday, Jan. 27.
BASEBALL AMERICA INCLUDES THREE CARDINALS IN TOP 100 COLLEGE PROSPECTS
Earlier this month, Baseball America released its 2017 College Top 100 MLB Draft Prospects and the list featured a trio of Louisville players. Junior lefthanded pitcher/first baseman Brendan McKay led the way for the Cardinals at No. 4, while junior righthanded pitcher Kade McClure was at No. 42 and junior shortstop Devin Hairston landed at No. 46. Last month, McKay was ranked seventh on the MLBPipeline.com Top 50 prospects list, which includes both college and high school players, and was No. 6 on both the D1Baseball College Top 100 and Perfect Game College Top 100.
LOUISVILLE PLAYERS TO SIGN SCHEDULE POSTERS AT JAN. 29 MEN'S BASKETBALL GAME
Members of the 2017 Louisville baseball team will be signing schedule posters in the lobbies throughout the KFC Yum! Center prior to the UofL men's basketball game against NC State. The players will be in game uniforms and will begin signing posters when doors open at 11:30 a.m., ET, while tipoff for the ACC contest is set for 1 p.m.
TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE FOR 2017 LOUISVILLE BASEBALL LEADOFF DINNER
As the countdown to the 2017 season continues, the anticipation for the 21st annual Louisville Baseball Leadoff Dinner presented by Republic continues to build. This year's event, set for Jan. 27 at 7 p.m., ET at the Louisville Marriott Downtown, is headlined by University of Louisville baseball alumni Cody Ege, Chad Green, Dean Kiekhefer and Matt Koch. Tickets for this year's event are still available and can be purchased online here. More information on the annual dinner is available here.
FOLLOWING THE CARDINALS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter (@UofLBaseball) at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.
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