Paul Goldschmidt Earns SLC Student-Athlete of the Year Honors

June 16, 2009

Frisco, Texas - Texas State's Paul Goldschmidt became the first athlete in Southland Conference history to take back-to-back honors as the Capital One Bank/SLC Baseball Student-Athlete of the Year and the first ever to be awarded dual honors with Player of the Year accolades in the same season, league officials released Tuesday afternoon in conjunction with the release of the All-Academic Baseball Teams.

The Woodlands, Texas native carries a 3.87 grade point average in finance and was recently credited for his academic achievements with a place on the CoSIDA All-Academic District VI team and an ESPN The Magazine All-America nod. Goldschmidt, a six-time academic Dean's List recipient, is also a three-time Oak Farms Dairy Academic Award Winner and earned Cream of the Crop honors (4.0 GPA) in 2006 and 2008. The junior was recently selected for the second-straight year as the Male Texas State Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the Southland Conference.

A two-time first-team all-conference selection, Goldschmidt helped lead Texas State to its most wins in school history with 41 and the team's first outright league title, along with the first NCAA Regional Tournament appearance since 2000. Goldschmidt received the SLC Hitter of the Year award for the second consecutive season after leading the nation with 88 runs batted in and a setting a Texas State single-season record with 18 home runs.

The junior collected All-America honors at first base from Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball and was named to the ABCA South Central All-Region Second-Team. The Arizona Diamondbacks selected Goldschmidt in eighth round of the 2009 Major League Draft.

Joining Goldschmidt on the All-Academic Teams is senior pitcher Zach Tritz who holds a 3.00 GPA in physics. The Spring, Texas native is a Dean's List and Oak Farms Dairy recipient and was also named to the 2008 SLC Spring Commissioner's Honor Roll.

Tritz held the No. 2 overall record on the Texas State pitching staff with eight wins, the second-best strikeout mark with 56 and compiled a 4.75 ERA in 77.2 innings to conclude his career with the Bobcats. A complete list of the 2009 Southland Baseball All-Academic Teams is below:

2009 Southland Baseball All-Academic Teams

First Team

 

 

 

 

 

Name

University

Class

Hometown

GPA

Major

Paul Goldschmidt12354

Texas State

Jr.

The Woodlands, Texas

3.87

Finance

Ryan Brauninger4

McNeese State

Sr.

Nederland, Texas

3.59

Communications

Josh Cryer3

Southeastern La.

So.

Leesville, La.

4.00

Accounting

Brycen Bell3

A&M-Corpus Christi

Sr.

Fort Collins, Colo.

3.69

Bio-Medical Sciences

Jordan Nipp35

Northwestern State

Sr.

Amarillo, Texas

3.97

Biology

Matt Otteman2

UT Arlington

Sr.

Lockport, Ill.

3.22

Exercise Science

Michael Rockett26

UTSA

Sr.

Sugar Land, Texas

3.16

Economics

Brian Taylor

Lamar

Sr.

Cedar Park, Texas

3.34

General Studies

Erich Lehmann5

Stephen F. Austin

Sr.

Fort Worth, Texas

3.71

Criminal Justice

Tye Throneberry

Central Arkansas

Jr.

Pine Bluff, Ark.

3.60

Biology

Josh Huffman

Central Arkansas

Sr.

Carrollton, Texas

3.79

Health Sciences

Zach Gardner5

Stephen F. Austin

Sr.

Sugar Land, Texas

3.66

Finance

 

 

 

 

 

 

Second Team

 

 

 

 

 

Name

University

Class

Hometown

GPA

Major

Justin O’Neal

Northwestern State

Sr.

Ruston, La.

3.10

Administration

Adam Boydston

UT Arlington

So.

Corinth, Texas

3.93

History

Jeremiah Sammy

Lamar

Sr.

Markham, Ontario

3.21

Communications

Ricky Testa

Lamar

Sr.

Mesquite, Texas

3.07

General Studies

Joe Urtuzuastegui

Northwestern State

Sr.

Mesa, Ariz.

3.00

General Studies

Lee Orr

McNeese State

RS-Fr.

Louise, Texas

3.05

Athletic Training

Zach Tritz

Texas State

Sr.

Spring, Texas

3.00

Physics

Brian Ferguson

Stephen F. Austin

Sr.

Sugar Land, Texas

3.37

Finance

Ryan Mooney

Sam Houston State

So.

The Woodlands, Texas

3.35

Business

Sam Merrill

McNeese State

Sr.

Omaha, Neb.

3.11

General Studies

Ryan Martin

UT Arlington

Sr.

Friendswood, Texas

3.51

Political Science

Collin Garner

UT Arlington

Sr.

Arlington, Texas

3.74

Mechanical Engineering

 

$Student-Athlete of the Year

*First-Team All-Conference

^CoSIDA All-Academic District VI

@ESPN The Magazine All-America

#Two-time Academic Selection

!Three-time Academic Selection

Print Friendly Version