May 27, 2008
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – University of Notre Dame senior shortstop Brett Lilley (North Canton, Ohio) was named an ESPN The Magazine first team Academic All-American on Tuesday, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Lilley, who was named first team in 2007, is the first Irish baseball player to ever earn first team distinction on multiple occasions. He is also the school’s 199th all-time Academic All-America selection.
Lilley’s honor marks the 12th time this decade that a Notre Dame baseball player has received Academic All-America recognition. The Irish baseball program now has seen 18 different players combine for 25 Academic All-America awards (since 1977), with Lilley becoming the 10th different Irish baseball player to be a first team Academic All-American. Others from that elite first-team group have included catcher Tim Pollock (’77), infielders Dave Bartish (’80) and Cory Mee (’92), third baseman James Dee (’84), outfielder John Loughran (’86), first baseman Joe Binkiewicz (’92), second baseman Jeff Perconte (2000) and Steve Sollmann (’04) and left-handed pitcher Mike Naumann (’01).
Lilley is the seventh Notre Dame baseball player ever to repeat as an Academic All-American (the other six who have done so include Loughran, Peltier, Binkiewicz, Naumann, Stavisky and Sollmann) and first to ever go first team in back-to-back years.
Lilley, a fifth-year senior, graduated from the Mendoza College of Business in May of 2007 with an accounting degree and a final cumulative grade point average of 3.74. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in accounting. This season, Lilley batted .297 with a team-best 62 runs scored, two home runs and 34 RBI. He has also added nine stolen bases. Lilley led the Irish with an .459 on-base percentage and 31 walks. He not only led the NCAA with 31 HBPs this season, but also owns the NCAA career mark of 109.
Lilley started all 231 games (every game in which he has played over his career) over the past four years. He started the final 111 consecutive games at shortstop. Lilley finished his career with a .336 batting average and is splashed all over the Irish career record book. He ranks fourth all-time in career on-base percentage (.479), tied for fourth in sacrifice bunts (30), tied for fifth in total sacrifices (38), seventh in games played (231), fourth in games started (231), fifth in at-bats (816), sixth in hits (274), fourth in runs scored (212), seventh in walks (122) and fifth in fielding assists (571).
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