NORMAL, Ill. – The Illinois State baseball team set a grade-point average (GPA) record during the fall semester, as ISU baseball players combined to post a 3.28 GPA, head coach Bo Durkac announced Thursday.
The Redbirds' performance in the classroom topped the team's previous best semester, also set during the 2016 calendar year; the Redbirds posted a 3.26 GPA during the Spring 2016 semester.
A total of 28 members of the team were named to the AFNI Honor Roll by posting a GPA of 3.0 or higher during the fall semester, and five players posted perfect 4.0 GPAs.
"This record-breaking semester in the classroom reflects the upward trend of Redbird baseball in all phases," Durkac said. "While our players have put in the time and effort to achieve at a high level, Joe Klausner, the Director of Life Skills at the Karin L. Bone Athletic Study Center, deserves to be recognized for his tireless efforts. He works with our players on a day-to-day basis to make sure that they are staying on top of their classwork. Patrick McNulty, from University College Advising, also plays a big part in helping our upperclassmen stay on track to graduation. I am very proud of this group's performance."
The success of the ISU baseball team contributed to the larger success of the entire athletics department, as a record 312 total student-athletes were named to the AFNI Honor Roll. The departmental GPA of 3.23 matched the program record, set last spring.
Illinois State begins its 2017 season Feb. 17 at the Riverview Inn Governors Challenge in Clarksville, Tennessee. The Redbirds will face Indiana State on Feb. 17, Austin Peay on Feb. 18 and Youngstown State on Feb. 19.
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