ST LOUIS – Illinois State's Paul DeJong has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Male Scholar-Athlete of the Week, MVC Commissioner Doug Elgin announced Wednesday. Southern Illinois' Sherry Zhang and Missouri State's Lauren Pavel were Female Co-Scholar-Athletes of the Week.
DeJong, a redshirt junior infielder/catcher for the ISU baseball team, played a key role in Illinois State's three-game sweep of Southeast Missouri State over the weekend in Lake Charles, Louisiana. DeJong batted .385/.467/.846 over the three-game stretch, while homering in two of the three contests. He scored four runs and drove in four more in the series, helping the Redbirds improve to 4-2.
DeJong currently leads the Redbirds, hitting .423/.483/.962. He currently leads the Missouri Valley Conference in slugging percentage (.962), home runs (4) and total bases (25) through Illinois State's first six games this spring.
Equally strong in the classroom, DeJong owns a 3.79 grade-point average while majoring in biochemistry/pre-medicine.
To qualify for Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week laurels, student-athletes must carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or better, completed at least one academic year at a Valley institution and must be at least a sophomore in academic standing.
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