From Emory University Athletics
For the second consecutive season, Emory University Baseball standout Kyle Monk has been recognized for his excellence in the classroom as well as his performance on the diamond, earning a spot on the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America First Team as announced by the organization via press release on Wednesday afternoon.
Monk, a CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team selection in 2016, now joins former outfielder Kyle Foster as the only Eagles in program history to be named to the Academic All-America First Team twice in a career. Foster accomplished the feat in 2002 and 2003.
To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, and have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at her/his current institution.
Monk, who was nominated with a 3.97 grade-point average as a Quantitative Social Science in Economics major, compiled career highs in innings pitched (52.0), victories (8) and strikeouts (59) while converting five save opportunities during his senior season in 2017. He had three outings where he tied his career-high in punch outs with seven, one of which coming in a complete-game victory over UAA-foe Case Western Reserve on March 24th in Monk's first collegiate start. Previously this year, he was selected to his third straight All-University Athletic Association team, garnering Second Team honors and was the recipient of the Thomas Aliberti and Scholar Athlete awards at the annual Emory Athletics awards banquet in late April.
The Cortlandt Manor, NY native finished his career as the Emory all-time statistical leader in saves (34), appearances (94), games finished (75) and combined shutouts (6), while ranking 11th in strikeouts (163) and tied for 12th in wins (19). His 34 saves place him fifth all-time in NCAA Division III history while his 92 relief appearances are tied for eighth most all-time.
Monk and the Eagles recently made their fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Division III postseason tournament, finishing the season with a 27-14 overall record.