May 28, 2008

NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Junior catcher Buster Posey of Florida State University heads the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Baseball University Division Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Posey was selected the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® of the Year in the University Division. A product of Leesburg, Ga., Posey has been instrumental in helping the Seminoles to a 48-10 record and the No. 4 ranking in the nation. He has started 53 games behind the plate, and led the nation in five offensive statistical categories as of the May 19 national rankings: batting average (.465), hits (99), total bases (184), on-base percentage (.565) and slugging percentage (.864). He also ranks in the top 10 in runs per game and total runs scored.

In the ACC, the Posey also leads in eight categories while ranking in the top 10 in three others. He finished the regular season batting .479 in ACC games only. The right hander has also made eight appearances on the mound and is a perfect 6-for-6 in save opportunities. Posey has struck out 10 batters and has not allowed a run in 7.1 innings of work.

Posey is a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy, Golden Spikes Award and Johnny Bench Award, while on the revised watch list for the Brooks Wallace Award.

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Buster Posey Named Academic All-American Of The Year

Tallahassee, Fla. - With the Florida State Baseball team gearing up for a postseason run which begins this Friday, May 30 inside Dick Howser Stadium, we take a short break from the playing field and direct our attention to the classroom. CoSIDA, in conjunction with ESPN the Magazine, announced the Academic All-American Baseball Team on Tuesday, May 27. Florida State's Buster Posey was named a first team All-American while also receiving honors as the Academic All-American of the Year.

In the classroom, Posey is a two-time member of the ACC Academic Honor Roll and has been named to the All-ACC Academic Team in 2006 and 2007. The junior catcher is pursuing a degree in finance and received the highest honor possible during the spring of his sophomore year as he was named to the President's List after earning a 4.0 GPA. Following the recent spring semester, Posey was named to the Dean's List registering a GPA of 3.875, raising his cumulative GPA above a 3.8.

"It's gratifying," said Posey on receiving this award. "I've put in a lot of effort off the field with school and hopefully it can be a good example for younger kids out there that you can accomplish both school and athletics. It definitely takes discipline, but doing well in school is something I take pride in."

Posey has also had a successful year on the diamond. The Leesburg, Ga., native has been named a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award, Johnny Bench Award and Dick Howser Trophy, while also being named to the Brooks Wallace Award Revised Watch List. He added ACC Player of the Year accolades last week.

Posey currently leads the nation in three offensive statistical categories including batting average (.467), on-base percentage (.567) and slugging percentage (.864). He also ranks in the top 10 in total bases (2nd), hits (2nd), runs (5th) and runs per game (6th).

Blackmon Tabbed to ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Team

ATLANTA - Charlie Blackmon, a redshirt junior from Suwannee, Ga., has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America second team, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America Tuesday afternoon.

The right fielder maintains a 3.71 grade point average as a business management major at Georgia Tech and has one semester remaining until graduation.

Blackmon, a second-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honoree, leads the Yellow Jackets in batting average (.391), hits (91), stolen bases (23) runs scored (66) and on base percentage (.465) and stands second on the team with 133 total bases in 2008. He is currently ranked among the top 10 in the ACC in average (5th), hits (4th), runs (7th), stolen bases (3rd), total bases (9th) and on base percentage (9th).

Blackmon becomes just the sixth Yellow Jacket baseball player to earn Academic All-America honors, joining a prestigious list of Tech alums - Nomar Garciaparra (1993, 1994), L.J. Yankosky (1997, 1998), Mark Teixeira (2000), Matthew Boggs (2002) and Steven Blackwood (2004).