2023 CSC Baseball Academic All-District
SEWARD, Neb. – As a result of their work both academically and on the diamond, four Bulldogs from the national qualifying Concordia University Baseball program have been named to the 2023 Academic All-District® Baseball Teams, as selected by College Sports Communicators (CSC) and announced on Tuesday (May 16). The Concordia award winners include Ben Berg, Jesse Garcia, Ty Nekoliczak and Jaidan Quinn. Garcia has earned Academic All-District honors for the fourth time in his career.
The 2022-23 Academic All-District® Baseball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. Student-athletes must achieve a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher in order to be nominated for this award. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA — for each gender.
A First Team All-GPAC and GPAC Gold Glove recipient, Berg has thrived in his fifth season as a member of the program. Entering the national tournament, Berg was hitting .418 (71-for-170) with 14 doubles, 10 home runs, a .497 on-base percentage and .676 slugging percentage. He has made only one error all season (.997 fielding percentage) and has nailed nine baserunners attempting to steal. A three-time All-GPAC performer and NAIA Scholar-Athlete, Berg has totaled 188 hits, 37 doubles, 27 home runs and 148 RBIs while batting .321 with a .526 slugging percentage. He graduated this May with a Bachelor of Science in Education with a focus in Secondary Education and Physical Education.
Like Berg, Garcia has enjoyed the best season of his career in 2023. The El Cajon, Calif., native has garnered four All-GPAC mentions in his career and moved up to the first team this season. Garcia is hitting .378 with 49 runs, 14 doubles, 17 home runs and 65 RBIs to go along with a .454 on-base percentage and .725 slugging percentage. The NAIA Scholar-Athlete owns program career records for games played (235), hits (265), doubles (58), RBIs (214) and walks (116). Garcia earned his degree from Concordia in Criminal Justice and is pursuing his Master of Business Administration.
A native of Greeley, Neb., Nekoliczak got the nod as the GPAC’s top shortstop in 2023. He’s hitting .408 (71-for-174) with 47 runs, nine doubles, four home runs, 43 RBIs and nine stolen bases. He also sports a .475 on-base percentage, .529 slugging percentage and .908 fielding percentage in 54 games. Nekoliczak garnered honorable mention all-conference status in 2022 when he batted .319 with a .450 on-base percentage. He led all GPAC players in batting average during this past regular season. Nekoliczak is studying Agribusiness.
A native of Bonner Springs, Kan., Quinn has starred as the GPAC’s top slugger in 2023. His 27 home runs this season are a school record. Entering the national tournament, he was hitting .352 (62-for-176) with 69 runs, 13 doubles and 69 RBIs. He also paces all GPAC players with a .510 on-base percentage and an .886 slugging percentage in 54 games. Quinn broke a school record for home runs in a single game when he left the yard four times at Midland. He has notched 46 home runs in two seasons as a Bulldog. An NAIA Scholar-Athlete, Quinn is studying Exercise Science.
Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced on June 7.