ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Illinois State baseball's sophomore Daniel Pacella has been named to Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete First-Team, which marks Illinois State's 16th-straight season of having at least one student-athlete named to the First Team. The MVC Scholar-Athlete teams were announced by the conference Tuesday morning.
Redshirt junior Judah Morris was the other Redbird to receive Scholar-Athlete recognition, as the Mather, Calif. native was named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete Second Team.
Pacella is a sophomore outfielder from Mundelein, Ill. Pacella was named a 2024 All-MVC First Team selection. Pacella holds a 4.00 cumulative GPA in Physical Education Teacher Education.
Pacella hit .328 with 28 extra-base hits, including 12 home runs. Pacella totaled the seventh-most single-season RBIs in program history with 61 in 2024. Pacella played in 53 games, with 53 starts.
Morris is a redshirt junior first baseman from Mather, Calif. Morris was named an All-MVC Honorable Mention selection in 2024. Morris holds a 3.73 cumulative GPA in Exercise Science.
Morris hit .287 with 34 extra-base hits, including 18 doubles, in 2024. His 18 doubles are 12th-most in a single season for the Redbirds. Morris played in 55 games, with 54 starts in 2024.
The scholar-athlete teams were voted on by each MVC program's respective sports information director as Valparaiso has the second-longest active streak with seven years.
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