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