Gruber, Taylor, Fox Earn Academic All-Summit Nods
Jun 10, 2015 | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. -- A trio of Omaha baseball players -- juniors Cole Gruber, Clayton Taylor and Tyler Fox -- were named to the 2015 Summit League Baseball Academic All-League Team, the conference office announced Wednesday. The Mavericks' three student-athletes on the team were the most of any school in the league.
Fox and Taylor were repeat selections, having previously earned Academic All-Summit plaudits in 2014.
Gruber, the Summit League's leading hitter, batted .399 this year with seven doubles, a triple, two home runs, a team-high 43 runs scored, 23 RBI, 32 walks drawn and 22 stolen bases. He ranked eighth nationally in on-base percentage (.495), ninth in batting average (.399) and 38th in stolen bases per game (0.47). The outfielder from Papillion-LaVista had 18 multi-hit games, including four single-game performances with four hits. A two-time All-Summit selection, he was a second-team pick in 2014 and a first-team honoree in 2015.
In the classroom, Gruber is an accounting major with a minor in finance, and he owns a 3.98 grade-point average. 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.
Taylor, who started all 52 games this season, batted .308 with eight doubles, two triples, a team-best eight home runs, 42 runs scored and a team-high 42 RBI. The shortstop out of Mount Michael ranked in the top five in the league for home runs (third - eight), triples (fifth - two) and hit-by-pitches (fifth - nine). He owned 17 multi-hit games and a team-best 11 multi-RBI games.
Taylor, an IT innovation major with a minor in management information systems, carries a 3.84 GPA. He was named first-team Academic All-District the last two seasons 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. Also 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.
Fox went 5-4 with a 2.88 ERA in his 2015 campaign, tossing a league-leading 93.2 innings in 15 appearances. In holding opponents to a .243 batting average, he was second in the conference for ERA and issued a team-high 72 strikeouts. Last year, Fox was the 2014 Summit League Pitcher of the Year and a first-team all-conference pick.
The right-hander from Thornton, Colo., owns a 3.56 GPA with a major in marketing and a minor in management. He is a member of the Summit League's Winter/Spring Academic Honor Roll and Commissioner's List of Academic Excellence, as well as the UNO Dean's List.
To be eligible for the Academic All-League team, a student-athlete must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.30 (on a 4.0 scale), completed at least one full academic year at the current institution and participated in 50 percent of their team's competitions, except pitchers in baseball and softball who must have participated in 20 percent of their team's total contests. The baseball all-league team is made up of the nine student-athletes receiving the most votes with all ties standing.
2015 ACADEMIC ALL-SUMMIT BASEBALL TEAM
Student-Athlete (School), Year, Position, GPA, Major(s)
Eric Danforth (South Dakota State), Sr., OF, 3.49, Consumer Affairs
Tyler Fox (Omaha), Jr., P, 3.56, Marketing
Paul Funk (North Dakota State), Jr., INF, 3.68, Biology
Cole Gruber (Omaha), Jr., OF, 3.98, Accounting
Derrian James (Oral Roberts), Sr., OF, 3.40, Business
Greg Kaiser (Fort Wayne), Jr., INF, 3.77, Finance
J.D. Moore (South Dakota State), Sr., P, 3.46, Economics
Tyler Owings (Western Illinois), Sr., P, 3.67, Engineering Technology
Clayton Taylor (Omaha), Jr., INF, 3.84, IT Innovation
Fox and Taylor were repeat selections, having previously earned Academic All-Summit plaudits in 2014.
Gruber, the Summit League's leading hitter, batted .399 this year with seven doubles, a triple, two home runs, a team-high 43 runs scored, 23 RBI, 32 walks drawn and 22 stolen bases. He ranked eighth nationally in on-base percentage (.495), ninth in batting average (.399) and 38th in stolen bases per game (0.47). The outfielder from Papillion-LaVista had 18 multi-hit games, including four single-game performances with four hits. A two-time All-Summit selection, he was a second-team pick in 2014 and a first-team honoree in 2015.
In the classroom, Gruber is an accounting major with a minor in finance, and he owns a 3.98 grade-point average. 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.
Taylor, who started all 52 games this season, batted .308 with eight doubles, two triples, a team-best eight home runs, 42 runs scored and a team-high 42 RBI. The shortstop out of Mount Michael ranked in the top five in the league for home runs (third - eight), triples (fifth - two) and hit-by-pitches (fifth - nine). He owned 17 multi-hit games and a team-best 11 multi-RBI games.
Taylor, an IT innovation major with a minor in management information systems, carries a 3.84 GPA. He was named first-team Academic All-District the last two seasons 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. Also 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.
Fox went 5-4 with a 2.88 ERA in his 2015 campaign, tossing a league-leading 93.2 innings in 15 appearances. In holding opponents to a .243 batting average, he was second in the conference for ERA and issued a team-high 72 strikeouts. Last year, Fox was the 2014 Summit League Pitcher of the Year and a first-team all-conference pick.
The right-hander from Thornton, Colo., owns a 3.56 GPA with a major in marketing and a minor in management. He is a member of the Summit League's Winter/Spring Academic Honor Roll and Commissioner's List of Academic Excellence, as well as the UNO Dean's List.
To be eligible for the Academic All-League team, a student-athlete must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.30 (on a 4.0 scale), completed at least one full academic year at the current institution and participated in 50 percent of their team's competitions, except pitchers in baseball and softball who must have participated in 20 percent of their team's total contests. The baseball all-league team is made up of the nine student-athletes receiving the most votes with all ties standing.
2015 ACADEMIC ALL-SUMMIT BASEBALL TEAM
Student-Athlete (School), Year, Position, GPA, Major(s)
Eric Danforth (South Dakota State), Sr., OF, 3.49, Consumer Affairs
Tyler Fox (Omaha), Jr., P, 3.56, Marketing
Paul Funk (North Dakota State), Jr., INF, 3.68, Biology
Cole Gruber (Omaha), Jr., OF, 3.98, Accounting
Derrian James (Oral Roberts), Sr., OF, 3.40, Business
Greg Kaiser (Fort Wayne), Jr., INF, 3.77, Finance
J.D. Moore (South Dakota State), Sr., P, 3.46, Economics
Tyler Owings (Western Illinois), Sr., P, 3.67, Engineering Technology
Clayton Taylor (Omaha), Jr., INF, 3.84, IT Innovation
Players Mentioned
Tuesday, September 01
Wednesday, August 26
Friday, August 21
Tuesday, April 21
