No. 26 Kent State Baseball Tallies Three Selections To 2011 Academic All-MAC Team
CLEVELAND -- Junior catcher David Lyon (Emporium, Pa.), junior third baseman Travis Shaw (Washington Court House, Ohio) and junior right-handed closer Kyle McMillen (North Canton, Ohio) of the Kent State baseball team have been named to the 2011 Academic All-Mid-American Conference Team, as announced by the conference office today (June 19).
The trio helped lead Kent State (45-17), which is ranked No. 26 in the nation according to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, to MAC regular season and tournament championships and a berth in the 2011 NCAA Championship Austin Regional. After earning the program's first-ever national tournament No. 3 seed, Kent State tallied an 11-inning 4-2 win over Texas State and followed it with a 7-5 winner's bracket final triumph over regional host and No. 5-ranked Texas to earn the school's second-ever berth in a regional final. The Flashes became the first squad to win three straight MAC Tournament crowns and first since 2005 to win the conference's regular season and tournament titles in the same season. Kent State's mark of 45-17 matched the 1992 squad for most victories in program history.
Lyon, a sports administration major carrying a 3.74 grade-point average, tied the school's single-season record with seven triples en route to earning Second Team All-MAC and MAC All-Tournament Team selection. He finished second on the team in batting average (.315), tied for second in hits (75), fourth in slugging percentage (.538), fifth in on-base percentage (.384), second in RBIs (53) and fourth in doubles (12). Lyon also called the signals for a pitching staff ranked sixth in the nation in ERA and a defense ranked among the top 20 in the nation in fielding percentage. Lyon crushed a grand slam to help power the Golden Flashes to a 7-5 victory over No. 5 Texas in the winner's bracket final of the NCAA Championship Austin Regional and earned NCAA Austin All-Regional Team selection.
McMillen, a pre-med/biology major carrying a 3.73 GPA, earned Louisville Slugger Third Team All-America and First Team All-MAC honors after finishing the season tied for the NCAA lead in saves with a team and conference single-season record 18. McMillen, who was selected in the fourth round (141st overall) of the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Chicago White Sox is a finalist for the seventh annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award.
Shaw, a sports administration major carrying a 3.49 GPA, finished the 2011 campaign second on the team in slugging percentage (.553), third in on-base percentage (.401), second in runs scored (48), tied for second in hits (75), third in RBIs (51), third in doubles (14) and first in home runs (14). The First Team All-MAC pick's home run total tied for 26th in the nation and led the MAC. Shaw was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the ninth round of the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft with the 292nd pick.
The Academic All-MAC honor is for a student-athlete who has excelled in athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport. First-year students and junior college transfers in their first year of residence are not eligible for the award.
