June 29, 2015
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The accolades continue to roll in for the University of Notre Dame baseball program after the most successful season in nearly a decade, as seven standouts earned all-Atlantic Coast Conference Academic Team honors Monday.
Earning recognition from the conference office were freshmen Brandon Bielak and Sean Guenther, sophomore Kyle Fiala, juniors Nick McCarty and Lane Richards and seniors Ryan Bull and Robert Youngdahl.
The seven honorees for the Irish were the most in the ACC.
Youngdahl, who transferred to the Irish at the start of the 2013-14 school year from Iowa Western Junior College, is a two-time all-ACC Academic Team member and is on pace to graduate in December 2015 with a degree in economics from the College of Arts & Letters. Sporting a 3.233 GPA entering his final semester, Youngdahl earned Dean’s List honors for the first time during the spring 2015 semester.
On the field, the New Brighton, Minnesota product had an outstanding bounce back 2015 campaign to earn third team all-ACC accolades. Hitting .290, Youngdahl tallied team highs in doubles (T-3rd ACC – 20) and RBI (46) to go along with 70 hits, seven homers, 18 walks, seven stolen bases and 35 runs.
Bull, who graduated with a degree in finance with a supplementary degree in computer applications from the Mendoza College of Business, finished off his college career with a 3.076 GPA. As a senior, the Eden Prairie, Minnesota native batted .268 with eight doubles, five homers, a team-high 10 hit by pitch, 27 RBI and 28 runs scored while fielding a perfect 1.000 percent. For his efforts at the NCAA Champaign Regional, Bull earned all-region accolades.
Richards, who overcame Tommy John surgery in April 2014 to have a successful junior campaign, sports a 3.24 GPA in finance from the Mendoza College of Business. The Pendleton, Oregon native started 58 games at shortstop for the Irish and batted .258 with 12 doubles, two triples, five homers, 33 RBI, 16 walks and 30 runs scored.
McCarty, a double major in history and economics from the College of Arts & Letters, sports a 3.45 GPA. This season the junior from Westfield, Indiana finished second on the team in wins (6-3) and sported a 3.93 ERA over 14 appearances and 12 starts. He pitched 68.2 innings and struck out 35 batters.
Arguably the most improved player on a team filled with impressive 2015 turnaround stories, Fiala claims a 3.16 GPA in finance from the Mendoza College of Business.
A third team all-ACC honoree, Fiala led the Irish in average (.301), hits (72) and runs (48) while also tallying 16 doubles, four triples, four homers, 28 RBI, 31 walks and 10 stolen bases. At the ACC Tournament, the Carmel, Indiana native batted .429 (.692 on-base percentage) with three hits, a double, two RBI, six walks and two runs scored to earn all-tournament team accolades.
Guenther, who was an ACC all-freshman team selection in addition to earning Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America accolades, also excelled in the classroom during his first year under the Golden Dome, as he boasted an impressive 3.41 GPA in the First Year of Studies program.
On the mound, the Atlanta product did a little bit of everything for the Irish in making a team-high 27 appearances. He tallied a team-high five saves over 46.1 innings of work. Guenther sported a 2.72 ERA and struck out 37 batters.
Bielak, an ACC all-freshman team selection, claimed a 3.36 GPA in his first year at Notre Dame. A steady starter for much of the year, the Sayreville, New Jersey native turned into a shutdown reliever towards the end of the season. He finished with a team-high 88.2 innings on the mound and struck out 62 batters in 17 appearances (14 starts). Bielak tied for second in wins (6-3) and finished with a 3.55 ERA.
ABOUT THE ALL-ACC ACADEMIC TEAM
The ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award was established in September 2007 to be awarded annually to the top junior or senior student-athlete in their respective sports. Candidates for the award must have maintained a 3.0 grade point average for their career as well as a 3.0 for each of the last two semesters.
To be eligible for consideration for the All-ACC Academic team, a student-athlete, regardless of classification, must have earned a 3.00 grade point average for the previous semester and maintained a 3.00 cumulative average during his academic career.
HOW TO FOLLOW ND BASEBALL
For more information on the Notre Dame baseball team, follow the Irish across social media … /NDBaseball on Facebook, @NDBaseball on Twitter and notredamebaseball on Instagram.
2015 ACC Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year
David Thompson, Miami
2015 All-ACC Academic Baseball Team
John Gorman, Sr., Boston College (Marketing)
Eli White, So., Clemson (Financial Mgt.)
Steven Duggar, Jr., Clemson (Parks, Rec. & Tourism Mgt.)
Matthew Crownover, Sr., Clemson (Sports Comm.)
Chase Pinder, Fr., Clemson (Sports Comm.)
Andy Perez, Sr., Duke (Psychology)
Michael Rosenfeld, GS, Duke (Management Studies)
Peter Zyla, Fr., Duke (Undeclared)
Cristian Perez, So., Duke (Sociology)
Mitch Stallings, Fr., Duke (Undeclared)
Demetrius Stewart, Jr., Florida State (Sport Management)
Josh Delph, Sr., Florida State (Social Science)
Benjamin Deluzio, So., Florida State (Exercise Science)
Christopher Marconcini, Sr., Florida State (Master’s- Marketing)
Michael Compton, Sr., Florida State (Social Science)
Bryant Holtmann, Sr., Florida State (Sport Management)
Kel Johnson, Fr., Georgia Tech (Biology)
Daniel Spingola, Sr., Georgia Tech (Industrial Engineering)
Jonathan King, R-So., Georgia Tech (Industrial Engineering)
Nick Solak, So., Louisville (Finance)
Devin Hairston, Fr., Louisville (Sports Administration)
Kyle Funkhouser, Jr., Louisville (Marketing)
Lincoln Henzman, Fr., Louisville (Sports Administration)
David Thompson, Jr., Miami (Sport Administration)
Willie Abreu, So., Miami (Sport Administration)
Garrett Kennedy, Sr., Miami (Legal Studies)
Bryan Garcia, So., Miami (Accounting)
Cooper Hammond, So., Miami (Human & Social Development)
Daniel Briggi, Sr., Miami (Economics)
Preston Palmeiro, So., NC State (Sport Management)
Andrew Knizner, So., NC State (Industrial Engineering)
Tommy DeJuneas, Fr., NC State (First Year College)
Brian Brown, Fr., NC State (First Year College)
Joe O’Donnell, So., NC State (Biological Sciences)
Benton Moss, Sr., North Carolina (Business Administration and Economics)
Robert Youngdahl, Sr., Notre Dame (Economics)
Kyle Fiala, So., Notre Dame (Finance)
Lane Richards, Jr., Notre Dame (Finance)
Ryan Bull, Sr., Notre Dame (Finance)
Brandon Bielak, Fr., Notre Dame (Undeclared)
Sean Guenther, Fr., Notre Dame (Undeclared)
Nick McCarty, Jr., Notre Dame (History)
Jacob Wright, Jr., Pitt (Biological Sciences)
Brandon Waddell, Jr., Virginia (Economics)
Erik Payne, Sr., Virginia Tech (Finance)
Jonathan Woodcock, Sr., Virginia Tech (Psychology)
Nate Mondou, So., Wake Forest (BEM)
Stuart Fairchild, Fr., Wake Forest (Undeclared)
Kevin Conway, Jr., Wake Forest (Finance)
Parker Dunshee, So., Wake Forest (Finance)
–Russell Dorn, Assistant Media Relations Director
–ND–