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. Loyola's Ashley Rogers was named the Female Scholar-Athlete of the Week.
DeJong, a redshirt junior infielder/catcher for the ISU baseball team, earned the honor for the second time this year, after previously being named a MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week on Feb. 25.
DeJong reached base six times over Illinois State's three-game stretch at the Snowbird Classic last weekend in Port Charlotte, Florida, helping the Redbirds to a pair of wins. DeJong tallied a double, two singles, a walk and was hit by two pitches over the stretch, to post a .250/.400/.333 slash line. He also scored three runs and played error-free over the weekend, while spending time at catcher, second base and third base.
DeJong currently leads the Missouri Valley Conference in home runs (5), total bases (35) and slugging percentage (.686), while ranking among the Valley's Top 10 in hits (16), runs (14), RBIs (11) and batting average (.333).
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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