Baseball | June 21
DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University baseball team had 15 student-athletes named to the Academic All-MAC Team on Friday, the Mid-American Conference announced.
The 15 Academic All-MAC selections are a program record, surpassing the 10 selections from last season. It tied Western Michigan for the most honorees in the conference this season.
"I am extremely proud of our student-athletes' commitment to academic excellence," said head coach
Ryan Copeland. "We ask a lot of our guys and to lead the MAC with 15 honorees is very impressive."
Eric Erato (Sussex, Wis./Sussex Hamilton) earned his third Academic All-MAC selection this season after being named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team earlier this month for the second time. The senior graduated this spring with a bachelor's degree in Sport Management with a 3.893 grade point average. He earned All-MAC second team honors after leading NIU in batting average, on-base percentage, walks and stolen bases. Erato was also an All-Defensive Team selection with a .995 fielding percentage at both second base and outfield.
Colin Summerhill (Chicago, Ill./Troy) was named to the Academic All-MAC Team for the first time in his career. He was also an All-MAC Second Team and a CSC Academic All-District honoree. Summerhill set NIU's single-season home run record this year with 19, passing the previous mark of 15 set in 2003. He led the Huskies with 65 runs batted in which were the second-most in a single season in program history.
Five Huskies earned their second Academic All-MAC honors. Seniors
Andre Demetral (Rochester, Mich./Florence Darling Tech),
Aaron Harper (Hemet, Calif./Mt. St. Jacinto CC),
Mason Kelley (Mt. Washington, Ky./Schoolcraft College) and
Reagan Klawiter (Verona, Wis./Madison College), along with junior
Conner Lutes (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) were all named to the Academic All-MAC Team. Klawiter led the MAC this season with 34 relief appearances which put him eighth in the country. Demetral was named to the CSC Academic All-District Team for the second time earlier this month.
Spencer Bartel (Sun Prairie, Wis./Madison College),
Jacob Draeger (Johnston, Iowa/DMACC),
Dominic Hann (Washington, Mich./Michigan State),
DJ Hess (Germantown, Wis./College of Lake County),
Ryan Linkletter (McHenry, Ill./Iowa Central CC),
Sam Pederson (Verona, Wis./McHenry CC),
Parker Shupe (Johnson, Iowa/Kirkwood CC) and
Jackson Stewart (Urbandale, Iowa/DMACC) were named to the Academic All-MAC Team for the first time. Hann was also named to the CSC Academic All-District Team this season.
To qualify for the Academic All-MAC Team, a student-athlete must have at least at 3.20 cumulative GPA and have played in at least 50 percent of games in that season.
The Huskies finished the season with a record of 21-33, an 11-win improvement from 2023 with a nine-win improvement in league play at 14-16.
--NIU--
2024 NIU Academic All-MAC Baseball Selections
Spencer Bartel, Junior, Accountancy, 3.983 GPA
Andre Demetral, Senior, Organizational & Corporate Communications, 3.639 GPA%
Jacob Draeger, Senior, Sport Management, 3.267 GPA
Eric Erato, Senior, Sport Management, 3.893 GPA#%
Dominic Hann, Senior, Kinesiology, 3.858 GPA
Aaron Harper, Senior, Sport Management, 3.933 GPA%
DJ Hess, Senior, Leadership and Management, 3.678 GPA
Mason Kelley, Senior, Sport Management, 3.872 GPA%
Reagan Klawiter, Senior, Political Science, 3.35 GPA%
Ryan Linkletter, Senior, Finance, 3.716 GPA
Conner Lutes, Junior, Business Administration, 3.382 GPA%
Sam Pederson, Senior, Criminology, 3.355 GPA
Parker Shupe, Senior, Sport Management, 3.772 GPA
Jackson Stewart, Senior, Business Administration, 3.37 GPA
Colin Summerhill, Senior, Business Administration, 3.584 GPA
# - 2022 Academic All-MAC Selection
% - 2023 Academic All-MAC Selection
