June 2, 2011
ST. LOUIS -
Illinois State third baseman Ryan Court has been named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team for the third time in his career, as announced by the league office Thursday. Center fielder Chad Hinshaw was also named a MVC Scholar-Athlete honorable mention.
Court, a senior business teacher education major from Sleepy Hollow, Ill., has earned a 3.50 grade-point average (GPA) or higher and earned a spot on the AFNI Honor Roll in all ten of his semesters at Illinois State leading to a 3.77 cumulative GPA. After completing his undergraduate coursework at Illinois State during the spring semester, Court is scheduled to student teach at Glenbrook South High School in Glenview, Ill., this fall.
In addition to earning MVC Scholar-Athlete recognition in 2009 and 2010, Court is a two-time member of the Capital One Academic All-District V First Team presented by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Court was also named a candidate for the 2011 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
Court never missed a start during his final three seasons at Illinois State, starting 159-consecutive games. During his senior season, the Redbird third baseman hit .323 with a team-best 15 doubles and four triples, to go along with six home runs. He was also 7-for-7 in stolen bases. For his efforts, Court was named to the 2011 All-MVC First Team.
Hinshaw, who received the first MVC Scholar-Athlete recognition of his career, has amassed a 3.55 cumulative GPA through the sophomore's first four semesters. The Bloomington, Ill., native led the Redbirds with 31 stolen bases in 37 attempts in 2011, which ranks third on the single-season stolen bases list and hit .244 with 10 doubles and 22 RBI. He has also completed his second-straight season without committing an error.
The criteria for the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team voting parallels the CoSIDA standards for Academic All-America voting. Nominees must be starters or important reserves, with at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average. Student-athletes must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution and must have completed at least one full academic year at their institution. The honor was voted on by the conference's baseball sports information directors.
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