ST. LOUIS – Illinois State's Paul DeJong and Jacob Hendren have been named to the Missouri Valley Conference's Baseball Scholar-Athlete Team. DeJong and Hendren were first-team selections.
The honor comes after both players were named Capital One Academic All-Americans last week by the College Sports Information Directors of America, making Illinois State the only Division I school to place multiple players on the first team.
DeJong, a redshirt junior infielder/catcher from Antioch, Illinois, was an All-Missouri Valley Conference First-Team selection for the second year in a row in 2015 after slashing .333/.427/.605 with team-leading totals of 70 hits, 15 doubles, 14 home runs and 48 RBIs. He also led the team in slugging percentage (.605) and total bases (127).
DeJong owns a 3.76 cumulative grade-point average (GPA) and received his bachelor's degree in biochemistry/pre-medicine last month.
Hendren, a junior from Le Roy, Illinois, was named the MVC Newcomer of the Year, in addition to earning All-MVC First-Team status. He posted a 10-2 pitching record, tying the Illinois State single-season record for wins, and broke the school record for innings pitched, with 106 innings on the mound this spring. Hendren also led the Redbirds with a 2.80 ERA, 99 strikeouts and three complete games.
Hendren currently sports a 3.83 GPA as a mathematics/pre-medicine major.
To be eligible for the MVC Scholar-Athlete Team, nominees had to own a 3.2 or higher GPA, be at least a sophomore in athletic and academic standing, and participate in the MVC Tournament or 75 percent of his team's regular-season games.
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