Gruber, Taylor, Fox Repeat As Academic All-Summit
Jun 15, 2016 | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. -- A trio of Omaha senior baseball players -- outfielder Cole Gruber, infielder Clayton Taylor and right-handed pitcher Tyler Fox -- were named to the 2016 Summit League Baseball Academic All-League Team, the conference office announced Wednesday. The Mavericks joined South Dakota State in placing three student-athletes on the team, which is the most of any school in the league.
Fox and Taylor are now three-time selections, having previously earned Academic All-Summit plaudits in 2014 and 2015, while Gruber is a two-time pick after his first award in 2015.
Gruber, the Summit League's leading hitter, started all 56 games this season and batted .376 with 13 doubles, two triples, one home run, 55 runs scored, 30 RBI, 32 walks and 43 stolen bases. He ranks third nationally for stolen bases and fourth for stolen bases per game (0.77), and he paced the Summit League for hits (83), runs and swiped bags. Gruber had a team-high 26 multi-hit performances and five multi-RBI games, and he was honored as Summit League Player of the Week on March 28. In addition, he holds the all-time league record for career sacrifice bunts (35) and is second for career stolen bases (105).
In the classroom, Gruber is an accounting major with a minor in finance, and he owns a 3.97 grade-point average. Earlier this month, he was named a first-team Academic All-American and the 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year for Division I baseball. The Papillion-LaVista product is a member of the Summit League's Academic Honor Roll, Distinguished Scholars List and Commissioner's 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 and Beta Alpha Psi honor societies.
Taylor, the 2016 Summit League Player of the Year, started all 56 games and batted .326 in his senior campaign with 12 doubles, one triple, 11 home runs, 43 runs scored, a league-high 66 RBI, 33 walks and 10 stolen bases. He ranks 13th nationally for RBI per game (1.18) and 14th for RBI, and he registered 20 multi-hit contests and a team-high 16 multi-RBI performances. The Mound Michael product is a four-time All-Summit selection over his career.
Sporting a 3.82 GPA, Taylor earned first-team Academic All-America status earlier this month after his third consecutive Academic All-District award. He is a member of the Summit League's Academic Honor Roll, Distinguished Scholars List and Commissioner's List of Academic Excellence, as well as the UNO Chancellor's List and Dean's List. Taylor is also a member of the honors program, a UNO Scott Scholar for Engineering/IT and a UNO Distinguished Scholar, and he graduated with his bachelor's degree in IT innovation with a minor in management information systems in May.
Fox was named Summit League Pitcher of the Year and picked up first-team All-Summit recognition last month, both for the second time in his career. The Thornton, Colo., native went 10-2 on the mound with a 3.04 ERA and tossed a league-high 100.2 innings over 15 appearances in his senior campaign. In holding opponents to a .267 batting average, he also paced the league for wins, complete games and shutouts and was second for ERA and strikeouts (71). Fox was tabbed Summit League Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 29, April 25 and May 9.
In the classroom, Fox owns a 3.63 GPA with a major in marketing and a minor in management, and he graduated with his bachelor's degree last month. He is a member of the Summit League's 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), have 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.
2016 ACADEMIC ALL-SUMMIT BASEBALL TEAM
Student-Athlete (School), Year, Position, GPA, Major(s)
Tyler Fox*^ (Omaha), Sr., SP, 3.63, Marketing
Cole Gruber* (Omaha), Sr., OF, 3.97, Accounting
Greg Kaiser*^ (Fort Wayne), Sr., INF, 3.66, Business Finance
Jesse Munsterman (South Dakota State), Sr., DH/INF, 3.75, Civil Engineering
Luke Ringhofer (South Dakota State), So., C, 3.60, Mechanical Engineering
Anthony Schneider (South Dakota State), So., INF, 3.91, Biology/Pre-Med
Clayton Taylor*^ (Omaha), Sr., INF, 3.82, IT Innovation
Brian VanderWoude (North Dakota State), Sr., RP, 3.31, Mechanical Engineering
Roman Visintine (Western Illinois), So., OF, 3.58, Exercise Science
Matt Whatley (Oral Roberts), So., C, 3.72, Exploratory
* - Academic All-Summit selection in 2015
^ - Academic All-Summit selection in 2014
Fox and Taylor are now three-time selections, having previously earned Academic All-Summit plaudits in 2014 and 2015, while Gruber is a two-time pick after his first award in 2015.
Gruber, the Summit League's leading hitter, started all 56 games this season and batted .376 with 13 doubles, two triples, one home run, 55 runs scored, 30 RBI, 32 walks and 43 stolen bases. He ranks third nationally for stolen bases and fourth for stolen bases per game (0.77), and he paced the Summit League for hits (83), runs and swiped bags. Gruber had a team-high 26 multi-hit performances and five multi-RBI games, and he was honored as Summit League Player of the Week on March 28. In addition, he holds the all-time league record for career sacrifice bunts (35) and is second for career stolen bases (105).
In the classroom, Gruber is an accounting major with a minor in finance, and he owns a 3.97 grade-point average. Earlier this month, he was named a first-team Academic All-American and the 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year for Division I baseball. The Papillion-LaVista product is a member of the Summit League's Academic Honor Roll, Distinguished Scholars List and Commissioner's 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 and Beta Alpha Psi honor societies.
Taylor, the 2016 Summit League Player of the Year, started all 56 games and batted .326 in his senior campaign with 12 doubles, one triple, 11 home runs, 43 runs scored, a league-high 66 RBI, 33 walks and 10 stolen bases. He ranks 13th nationally for RBI per game (1.18) and 14th for RBI, and he registered 20 multi-hit contests and a team-high 16 multi-RBI performances. The Mound Michael product is a four-time All-Summit selection over his career.
Sporting a 3.82 GPA, Taylor earned first-team Academic All-America status earlier this month after his third consecutive Academic All-District award. He is a member of the Summit League's Academic Honor Roll, Distinguished Scholars List and Commissioner's List of Academic Excellence, as well as the UNO Chancellor's List and Dean's List. Taylor is also a member of the honors program, a UNO Scott Scholar for Engineering/IT and a UNO Distinguished Scholar, and he graduated with his bachelor's degree in IT innovation with a minor in management information systems in May.
Fox was named Summit League Pitcher of the Year and picked up first-team All-Summit recognition last month, both for the second time in his career. The Thornton, Colo., native went 10-2 on the mound with a 3.04 ERA and tossed a league-high 100.2 innings over 15 appearances in his senior campaign. In holding opponents to a .267 batting average, he also paced the league for wins, complete games and shutouts and was second for ERA and strikeouts (71). Fox was tabbed Summit League Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 29, April 25 and May 9.
In the classroom, Fox owns a 3.63 GPA with a major in marketing and a minor in management, and he graduated with his bachelor's degree last month. He is a member of the Summit League's 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), have 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.
2016 ACADEMIC ALL-SUMMIT BASEBALL TEAM
Student-Athlete (School), Year, Position, GPA, Major(s)
Tyler Fox*^ (Omaha), Sr., SP, 3.63, Marketing
Cole Gruber* (Omaha), Sr., OF, 3.97, Accounting
Greg Kaiser*^ (Fort Wayne), Sr., INF, 3.66, Business Finance
Jesse Munsterman (South Dakota State), Sr., DH/INF, 3.75, Civil Engineering
Luke Ringhofer (South Dakota State), So., C, 3.60, Mechanical Engineering
Anthony Schneider (South Dakota State), So., INF, 3.91, Biology/Pre-Med
Clayton Taylor*^ (Omaha), Sr., INF, 3.82, IT Innovation
Brian VanderWoude (North Dakota State), Sr., RP, 3.31, Mechanical Engineering
Roman Visintine (Western Illinois), So., OF, 3.58, Exercise Science
Matt Whatley (Oral Roberts), So., C, 3.72, Exploratory
* - Academic All-Summit selection in 2015
^ - Academic All-Summit selection in 2014
Players Mentioned
Tuesday, September 01
Wednesday, August 26
Friday, August 21
Tuesday, April 21
