From Washington University Athletics

Senior infielder John Brinkman of the Washington University in St Louis baseball team was selected to the 2020 NCAA Division III Baseball Academic All-America First Team, as announced Tuesday by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Brinkman double majored in biomedical engineering and computer science and maintained a 3.49 grade point average throughout his athletic career. He is the 15th player in WashU Baseball history to be named an Academic All-American and joins Zander Lehman (2009) and Chris Lowery (2015) as the third player awarded First Team honors in program history.

"As a BME major and a two-year captain, Brink helped lead the way in showing his teammates that it is possible to be fully committed to your sport without compromising your success academically," head coach Pat Bloom said. "There cannot be many student-athletes across the country who can say that they were both First Team All-American and First Team Academic All-American during their career." 

Brinkman is a three-time All-UAA honoree and was named as an American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and Rawlings First Team All-American in the 2019 season. This past season, he hit .400 with a home run and 17 RBI in his 12 starts. Brinkman ranks fourth in school history in saves (6), sixth in runs batted in (137), eighth in batting average (.376) and 10th in hits (180).

"John Brinkman was part of an outstanding senior class – they excelled both in the classroom and on the field," said Bloom. The class had a cumulative GPA of 3.7, claimed two University Athletic Association (UAA) Championships and two NCAA Regional titles.

WashU compiled a 9-3 overall record in 2020 and started the season 7-0 for the first time since 2007. The Bears were ranked No. 1 in the D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25 Poll for the first time in program history on March 3.