Posted: May 09, 2019
Bulldogs' Cauley, Jurden advance to Academic All-America national ballot
SEGUIN, Texas -- Texas Lutheran Baseball outfielder Tyler Cauley (Mont Belvieu/Barbers Hill) and TLU Softball outfielder Kelly Jurden (Brenham/Brenham) advanced to the Google Cloud Academic All-America® national ballot for their respective sports after each was named Thursday to a Google Cloud Academic All-District® First Team.
Cauley, a junior, and Jurden, a sophomore, each made the Academic All-District Team for the first time. Jurden did so in her first year of eligibility.
Sophomores, juniors and seniors with grade point averages of at least 3.30 are eligible for nomination. The teams are selected by a vote of sports information directors within each district. District 8 includes NCAA Division III colleges and universities from Iowa west to California and from Texas north to Canada.
Cauley, a 2018 playing All-American and a 2019 First All-Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference selection, is an accounting major with a 3.60 grade point average.
In leading TLU to the SCAC Baseball Regular-Season Co-Championship and to a runner-up finish at the conference tournament, Cauley has a batting average of .336 with team highs in runs (45), doubles (10), triples (4), RBI (46), total bases (90), slugging percentage (.592) and on-base percentage (.478). He also leads the team in stolen bases (15-for-15).
TLU Baseball holds an overall record of 31-12. The Bulldogs are third in the most recent NCAA DIII West Region rankings. TLU learns its NCAA post-season fate at 11 a.m. Monday when the NCAA tournament field is released.
Jurden, the 2019 SCAC Player of the Year, is a business and information systems major with a 4.0 grade point average.
Jurden is second in all of NCAA Division III in stolen bases and in stolen bases per game. She has a school and conference-record 49 stolen bases in 51 attempts. She also ranks high among DIII softball players in runs per game (4th), on-base percentage (28th), batting average (39th), and walks (84th). Jurden is hitting .470 with 50 runs scored, 54 hits, and 21 walks.
TLU Softball, playing in this weekend's Marshall, Texas Regional, is 30-7 overall after winning its sixth consecutive SCAC Championship. The Bulldogs are the No. 2 seed at the regional tournament.
The Academic All-District Teams in baseball and softball are chosen by position. Cauley was one of three outfielders to make the baseball team. Jurden was one of four outfielders to make the softball team.
Cauley was one of three juniors to make the baseball team. Jurden was the only sophomore on the softball team.
First Team Academic All-District® honorees advance to the Google Cloud Academic All-America® ballot. First, Second and Third Team (when selected) Academic All-America® honorees will be announced in June.
The Google Cloud Academic All-District® teams are divided into eight geographic districts across the United States and Canada.
The Division II and III Google Cloud Academic All-America® programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures to assist the College Sports Information Directors of America with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2018-19 Divisions II and III Academic All-America® programs.
For more information about CoSIDA's Google Cloud Academic All-District® and Academic All-America® Teams program, visit AcademicAllAmerica.com or the Academic All-America® home page on CoSIDA.com.
Google Cloud Academic All-District® Baseball
NCAA DIVISION III – DISTRICT 8 (AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, IA, ID, KS, LA, MT, ND, NE)
(NM, NV, OK, OR, SD, TX, UT, WA, WY, Canada)
FIRST TEAM
Pos. Name School GPA Yr. Major
P Christian Slattery California Lutheran University 4.00 Sr. Economics
P Matthew Young Whitworth University 3.78 Jr. Health Science
C Casey Combs East Texas Baptist University 3.54 Gr. Business Management
IF Tyler Janitz Willamette University 3.73 Sr. Pre-Med / Environmental Science
IF Jordan Kaplan Coe College 3.45 Jr. Business Administration / Sports Management
IF Garrett Saunders Central College 3.88 Sr. Biology
IF Anthony Sidley California Lutheran University 3.58 Sr. Criminal Justice
IF Wyatt Smith Linfield College 3.67 So. Applied Physics
IF Dylan Sumpter East Texas Baptist University 3.98/4.00 Gr. Business Administration (UG) / Business (G)
OF Tyler Cauley Texas Lutheran University 3.60 Jr. Accounting
OF Mitch Patterson University of Mary Hardin-Baylor 3.93 Sr. Finance
OF Taylor Poffenroth Whitworth University 3.69 Sr. Health Science
DH Andrew Walker Wartburg College 3.79 Sr. Economics & Business Administration
Google Cloud Academic All-District® Softball
NCAA DIVISION III – DISTRICT 8 (AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, IA, ID, KS, LA, MT, ND, NE)
(NM, NV, OK, OR, SD, TX, UT, WA, WY, Canada)
FIRST TEAM
Pos. Name School Yr. GPA Major
P Bailey Meyer Southwestern University Jr. 3.87 Chemistry
P Alyssa Olson Coe College Sr. 3.74 Biochemistry
C Samantha Simundson Pacific Lutheran University Sr. 3.82 Psychology
IF MacKenzie Anderson East Texas Baptist University Sr. 3.69 Education / History
IF Blake Banowetz Luther College Sr. 3.96 Physical Education
IF Kendall Marinesi California Lutheran University Jr. 3.95 Interdisciplinary Education Studies
IF Kayla Reusche Simpson College Sr. 4.00 Psychology
IF Ravin Wilson University of Texas at Dallas Sr. 3.82 Accounting
IF Hannah Wolfe University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Jr. 4.00 Accounting
OF Kelly Jurden Texas Lutheran University So. 4.00 Business & Information Systems
OF Melissa Livermore University of Texas at Dallas Sr. 3.84 Healthcare Studies
OF Allison Meyer George Fox University Jr. 4.00 Elementary Education
OF Sara Tallman Central College Jr. 3.95 Elementary Education
DP Maddy Colson Linfield College Sr. 3.83 Political Science