Omaha Baseball Trio Named Academic All-District
May 7, 2015 | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. – Junior baseball players Alex Mortensen, Clayton Taylor and Cole Gruber were named to the 2015 Capital One Academic All-District 7 Baseball First Team on Thursday, it was announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The team was selected by a vote of sports information directors whose institutions are located within CoSIDA District 7, which includes the states of Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming.
It marks the second career inclusion on an Academic All-District team for both Mortensen and Taylor and the first for Gruber. All three now advance to the Academic All-America ballot and will be considered for national accolades later this month. Omaha was one of three Division I teams nationally with three Academic All-District selections, joining MIT and LaSalle.
Mortensen, Taylor and Gruber make up Omaha's seventh, eighth and ninth Academic All-District selections in baseball program history. UNO has had six Academic All-District picks since beginning the Division I reclassification, the most recent being Taylor and former Maverick Caleb Palensky in 2014.
Mortensen was the UNO baseball program's first Academic All-American, earning third-team honors in 2013. He carries a 3.95 grade-point average with a major in business administration and is a member of the UNO Chancellor's List (for 4.0 GPA) and Dean's List (for 3.5 GPA or higher). The Millard North product was named both All-Summit and Academic All-Summit in 2013 and has been a member of the Summit League's Academic Honor Roll and List of Academic Excellence. Mortensen is also a winner of the Tal Anderson Business Scholarship and a member of the UNO Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
On the field, Mortensen has hit .263 with 10 doubles, 22 runs scored and 31 RBI in his junior campaign. He ranks in the Summit League's top 10 for sacrifice flies and owns nine multi-hit performances and six multi-RBI games this season.
Taylor, an IT innovation major with a minor in management information systems, carries a 3.83 GPA. The Mount Michael graduate was named first-team Academic All-District and Academic All-Summit in 2014, and he is a member of the conference's Academic Honor Roll, Distinguished Scholars List and List of Academic Excellence. A member of the honors program, Taylor is a Scott Scholar for Engineering and Information Technology and a UNO Distinguished Scholar. He has been selected to the UNO Chancellor's List and Dean's List.
A two-time All-Summit honoree, Taylor leads the Mavericks in home runs and RBI this year, and he is in the Summit League's top 10 for homers, triples, hit-by-pitches, sacrifice flies, sacrifice hits and slugging percentage. The Omaha native has hit .309 in his junior season, adding six doubles, two triples, six home runs, 37 runs scored, and 35 RBI.
Gruber is an accounting major with a minor in finance, and he owns a 3.97 GPA. He is a member of the Summit League's Academic Honor Roll, Distinguished Scholars List and List of Academic Excellence, and he has been named to the UNO Chancellor's List and Dean's List. Gruber is also involved in the Investment and Banking Clubs and is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, a business honor society.
The Papillion-LaVista graduate is among the nation's leaders in batting average, on-base percentage and stolen bases per game. Gruber is batting .403 with a team-best 39 runs scored, six doubles, a triple, a home run and 17 RBI. He also leads the Mavericks with 28 walks drawn and 20 stolen bases, and he has 14 multi-hit games and four multi-RBI efforts this year. Gruber was an All-Summit pick in 2014.
2015 CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT 7 FIRST TEAM
Pos. -- Student-Athlete, School -- Year, Hometown, GPA, Major
P -- Chase Angelle, Lamar -- Sr., Orange, Texas, 3.80, Accounting
P -- Alex Estrella, New Mexico -- Jr., Las Vegas, Nev., 4.18, Economics
C -- Tyler Floyd, Texas Tech -- Jr., Stephenville, Texas, 4.00, Exercise & Sports Science
INF -- Alex Mortensen, Omaha -- Jr., Omaha, Neb., 3.95, Business Administration
INF -- Dan O'Neill, Stephen F. Austin -- Sr., Ridley, Pa., 3.80, Kinesiology
INF -- Clayton Taylor, Omaha -- Jr., Omaha, Neb., 3.83, IT Innovation
INF -- Russell Williams, Air Force -- So., McKinney, Texas, 3.87, Economics
OF -- Ryan Boldt, Nebraska -- So., Red Wing, Minn., 3.79, Nutrition Science
OF -- Logan Brown, Baylor -- Sr., Rowlett, Texas, 3.77, Electrical Engineering
OF -- Cole Gruber, Omaha -- Jr., Papillion, Neb., 3.97, Accounting
DH -- Kirby Taylor, Rice -- Sr., Bellaire, Texas, 3.42, Economics
It marks the second career inclusion on an Academic All-District team for both Mortensen and Taylor and the first for Gruber. All three now advance to the Academic All-America ballot and will be considered for national accolades later this month. Omaha was one of three Division I teams nationally with three Academic All-District selections, joining MIT and LaSalle.
Mortensen, Taylor and Gruber make up Omaha's seventh, eighth and ninth Academic All-District selections in baseball program history. UNO has had six Academic All-District picks since beginning the Division I reclassification, the most recent being Taylor and former Maverick Caleb Palensky in 2014.
Mortensen was the UNO baseball program's first Academic All-American, earning third-team honors in 2013. He carries a 3.95 grade-point average with a major in business administration and is a member of the UNO Chancellor's List (for 4.0 GPA) and Dean's List (for 3.5 GPA or higher). The Millard North product was named both All-Summit and Academic All-Summit in 2013 and has been a member of the Summit League's Academic Honor Roll and List of Academic Excellence. Mortensen is also a winner of the Tal Anderson Business Scholarship and a member of the UNO Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
On the field, Mortensen has hit .263 with 10 doubles, 22 runs scored and 31 RBI in his junior campaign. He ranks in the Summit League's top 10 for sacrifice flies and owns nine multi-hit performances and six multi-RBI games this season.
Taylor, an IT innovation major with a minor in management information systems, carries a 3.83 GPA. The Mount Michael graduate was named first-team Academic All-District and Academic All-Summit in 2014, and he is a member of the conference's Academic Honor Roll, Distinguished Scholars List and List of Academic Excellence. A member of the honors program, Taylor is a Scott Scholar for Engineering and Information Technology and a UNO Distinguished Scholar. He has been selected to the UNO Chancellor's List and Dean's List.
A two-time All-Summit honoree, Taylor leads the Mavericks in home runs and RBI this year, and he is in the Summit League's top 10 for homers, triples, hit-by-pitches, sacrifice flies, sacrifice hits and slugging percentage. The Omaha native has hit .309 in his junior season, adding six doubles, two triples, six home runs, 37 runs scored, and 35 RBI.
Gruber is an accounting major with a minor in finance, and he owns a 3.97 GPA. He is a member of the Summit League's Academic Honor Roll, Distinguished Scholars List and List of Academic Excellence, and he has been named to the UNO Chancellor's List and Dean's List. Gruber is also involved in the Investment and Banking Clubs and is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, a business honor society.
The Papillion-LaVista graduate is among the nation's leaders in batting average, on-base percentage and stolen bases per game. Gruber is batting .403 with a team-best 39 runs scored, six doubles, a triple, a home run and 17 RBI. He also leads the Mavericks with 28 walks drawn and 20 stolen bases, and he has 14 multi-hit games and four multi-RBI efforts this year. Gruber was an All-Summit pick in 2014.
2015 CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT 7 FIRST TEAM
Pos. -- Student-Athlete, School -- Year, Hometown, GPA, Major
P -- Chase Angelle, Lamar -- Sr., Orange, Texas, 3.80, Accounting
P -- Alex Estrella, New Mexico -- Jr., Las Vegas, Nev., 4.18, Economics
C -- Tyler Floyd, Texas Tech -- Jr., Stephenville, Texas, 4.00, Exercise & Sports Science
INF -- Alex Mortensen, Omaha -- Jr., Omaha, Neb., 3.95, Business Administration
INF -- Dan O'Neill, Stephen F. Austin -- Sr., Ridley, Pa., 3.80, Kinesiology
INF -- Clayton Taylor, Omaha -- Jr., Omaha, Neb., 3.83, IT Innovation
INF -- Russell Williams, Air Force -- So., McKinney, Texas, 3.87, Economics
OF -- Ryan Boldt, Nebraska -- So., Red Wing, Minn., 3.79, Nutrition Science
OF -- Logan Brown, Baylor -- Sr., Rowlett, Texas, 3.77, Electrical Engineering
OF -- Cole Gruber, Omaha -- Jr., Papillion, Neb., 3.97, Accounting
DH -- Kirby Taylor, Rice -- Sr., Bellaire, Texas, 3.42, Economics
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