Palensky Selected First-Team Academic All-American
May 30, 2014 | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. -- Senior infielder Caleb Palensky was named to the 2014 Capital One Academic All-America Division I Baseball First Team, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced Friday.
Palensky started all 51 games at shortstop in his senior season, batting .305 with 29 runs scored, 40 RBI, 15 doubles, two triples and four home runs. A two-time Summit League Player of the Week on March 31 and April 28, he ranked second in the conference in RBI and was third in triples. Against conference-only opposition, Palensky paced his league peers in doubles, total bases and RBI, and he boasted a .671 slugging percentage in those contests. In 2013 and 2014. He helped Omaha to back-to-back Summit League regular-season championships and garnered first-team All-Summit accolades in 2014.
A product of Papillion-LaVista South, Palensky carries a 3.94 grade-point average with a major in exercise science and a minor in emergency management. He is a member of the UNO Chancellor's List and Dean's List, the Summit League Commissioner's List of Academic Excellence and the Summit League Academic Honor Roll.
Palensky is the first Maverick named to an Academic All-America First Team since former UNO football player Ben Hochstein in 2007. He is just the second Omaha baseball player to earn Academic All-America honors, joining Alex Mortensen, who was a third-team selection in 2013.
2014 CAPITAL ONE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA BASEBALL TEAM
First Team
Pos. - Name (School), Yr., Hometown, GPA, Major
P - John Curtiss (Texas), Jr., Southlake, Texas, 3.85, English/History
P - Trey Lambert (Liberty), Sr., Tazewell, Va., 3.94, Health Promotion: Clinical
C - Russell Vaughan (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi), Sr., Mesa, Ariz., 4.00, Health Sciences
INF - Alex Close (Liberty), Jr., Hoover, Ala., 3.84, Business Administration/Finance
INF - Michael Massi (Mercer), Sr., Powder Springs, Ga., 3.67, Accounting
INF - Caleb Palensky (Omaha), Sr., Papillion, Neb., 3.94, Exercise Science
INF - Kevin Swick (USC), Sr., La Canada, Calif., 3.83, Business Administration
OF - Tim Colwell (North Dakota State), Sr., Shoreview, Minn., 4.00, Zoology
OF - Jeff Keller (Dartmouth), Sr., Atherton, Calif., 3.95, Economics
OF - Derrick Workman (Mercer), Sr., Acworth, Ga., 4.00, Communications
DH - Derek Gibson (SEMO), Sr., Bonne Terre, Mo., 3.77, Pre-Dental
Second Team
P - Doug Ashby (Baylor), Sr., McKinney, Texas, 4.00, Engineering
P - Gage Smith (Florida State), Sr., Tallahassee, Fla., 3.79, Business Management
C - Grayson Greiner (South Carolina), Jr., Columbia, S.C., 3.47, Accounting
INF - Danny Diekroeger (Stanford), Sr., Woodside, Calif., 3.80, Computer Science
INF - Connor Panas (Canisius), Jr., Toronto, Ontario, 3.80, Physical Education/Health Education
INF - Scott Schaub (Jacksonville), Sr., Ocala, Fla., 3.45, Exercise Science
INF - Tyler Vaughn (Troy), Sr., Murphy, N.C., 3.92, Chemistry
OF - Collin Forgey (Saint Joseph's), Gr., San Diego, Calif., 3.65, General Studies
OF - Collin Slaybaugh (Washington State), Sr., Puyallup, Wash., 4.00, Kinesiology
OF - Evan Stephens (Wake Forest), Sr., Lexington, Ky., 3.83, Finance
DH - Kyle Convissar (Maryland), Sr., Severna Park, Md., 3.99, Finance
Third Team
P - Rohn Pierce (Canisius), Jr., Lockport, N.Y., 3.51, Management
P - Ian Tompkins (Western Kentucky), Jr., Louisville, Ky., 3.78, Accounting
C - Zach Fisher (Towson), Gr., Baltimore, Md., 3.94, Information Technology
INF - Jason Blum (SEMO), Jr., Ste. Genevieve, Mo., 4.00, Finance
INF - Sam Haggerty (New Mexico), So., Denver, Colo., 3.78, Finance
INF - Kevin Nutter (William & Mary), Sr., Vienna, Va., 3.94, Accounting
INF - Taylor Sparks (UC Irvine), Jr., Long Beach, Calif., 3.63, Sociology
OF - Austin Cousino (Kentucky), Jr., Dublin, Ohio, 3.32, Community & Leadership Development
OF - Patrick Riewer (North Dakota), Sr., Wadena, Minn., 4.00, Chemical Engineering
OF - DJ Stewart (Florida State), So., Yulee, Fla., 3.48, Sport Management
DH - Matt Parrish (Campbell), So., Angier, N.C., 3.87, Mathematics
Academic All-American of the Year: Tim Colwell, North Dakota State
