Gruber, Taylor Selected Academic All-Americans
Jun 3, 2016 | Baseball
OMAHA, Neb. -- Senior baseball players Cole Gruber and Clayton Taylor were named to the 2016 Academic All-America Division I Baseball Team, it was announced Friday by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Gruber headlines the squad as both a first-team honoree and the 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year for Division I baseball, while Taylor joins him with first-team honors of his own.
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 second 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, Gruber 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. 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 ranked 10th nationally for RBI and 13th for RBI per game, 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 has earned three consecutive Academic All-District awards and is a two-time Academic All-Summit selection. 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 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.
Omaha has had six baseball Academic All-Americans in program history: Gruber (2015, 2016), Taylor (2016) and former Mavericks Alex Mortensen (2013, 2015) and Caleb Palensky (2014). UNO is one of two Division I baseball programs nationally to have at least one Academic All-American each of the last four years.
2016 CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA DIVISION I BASEBALL TEAM
First Team
Pos. - Name (School), Yr., Hometown, GPA, Major
P - Thomas Hackimer (St. John's (N.Y.)), Sr., Floral Park, N.Y., 3.62, Physics
P - Dylan Moore (Louisiana), So., Hughes Springs, Texas, 4.00, Political Science/Pre-Law
C - Joey Roach (2) (Georgia State), Sr., Holly Springs, N.C., 3.89, Actuarial Science
INF - David MacKinnon (Hartford), Jr., Easton, Mass., 3.94, Accounting
INF - Matt Parrish (2, #) (Campbell), Sr., McGee's Crossroads, N.C., 3.75, Mathematics
INF - Caleb Stayton (Ball State), Jr., Goshen, Ind., 3.92, Telecommunications
INF - Clayton Taylor (Omaha), Sr., Omaha, Neb., 3.82, IT Innovation
OF - Alex Call (3) (Ball State), Jr., River Falls, Wis., 3.86, Entrepreneurial Management
OF - Cole Gruber (2) (Omaha), Sr., Papillion, Neb., 3.97, Accounting
OF - Nolan Lodden (Valparaiso), Sr., West Des Moines, Iowa, 3.94, Electrical Engineering
DH - James Day (North Carolina Central), Sr., Charlotte, N.C., 3.84, History
Second Team
P - Matt Anderson (Morehead State), Sr., McDonough, Ga., 3.91, Construction Management/Civil Engineering
P - Eric Lauer (Kent State), Jr., Elyria, Ohio, 3.79, Business Management
C - Andrew Knizner (North Carolina State), Jr., Glen Allen, Va., 3.98, Industrial Engineering
INF - Tommy Edman (Stanford), Jr., San Diego, Calif., 3.84, Computer Science
INF - Jameson Fisher (Southeastern Louisiana), Jr., Zachary, La., 3.37, Kinesiology
INF - Patrick Graham (Gardner-Webb), Sr., Raleigh, N.C., 3.91, Economics
INF - Nick Solak (Louisville), Jr., Woodridge, Ill., 3.69, Finance
OF - Nate Adams (Yale), Sr., St. Louis, Mo., 3.71, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
OF - Cody Bruder (Michigan), Sr., Corona, Calif., 3.61, Evolutionary Anthropology
OF - Sean Trent (U.S. Naval Academy), Sr., Sorrento, Fla., 3.44, Ocean Engineering
DH - Matt Fiedler (Minnesota), Jr., Eagan, Minn., 3.30, Kinesiology
Third Team
P - Dustin Beggs (Kentucky), Sr., Roswell, Ga., 3.69, Integrated Strategic Communications
P - Alex Estrella (New Mexico), Gr., Las Vegas, Nev., 4.00, Business Administration
C - Chris DeVito (New Mexico), Jr., Northridge, Calif., 3.52, Criminology
INF - Trevor Ezell (Southeast Missouri State), So., Alexander, Ark., 3.92, Business Administration
INF - David Geary (VMI), Sr., Richmond, Va., 3.70, Applied Math
INF - Justin Jones (Georgia State), So., Warner Robins, Ga., 4.04, Exercise Science
INF - Taylor Jones (Gonzaga), Sr., Kent, Wash., 3.50, Applied Communications
INF - Russell Williams (U.S. Air Force Academy), Jr., McKinney, Texas, 3.75, Economics
OF - Ryan Boldt (Nebraska), Jr., Red Wing, Minn., 3.70, Nutrition Science
OF - Kaleb Duckworth (Western Kentucky), So., Henderson, Ky., 3.94, Accounting
OF - Luke Meeteer (Milwaukee), Sr., Middleton, Wis., 3.60, Kinesiology
DH - Stephen Born (U.S. Naval Academy), So., Strafford, Pa., 3.74, Operations Research
ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA OF THE YEAR: Cole Gruber (Omaha)
Key
(1) = 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team
(2) = 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team
(3) = 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team
(#) = 2014 CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team
OMAHA BASEBALL ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS
2013 - Alex Mortensen (Third Team)
2014 - Caleb Palensky (First Team)
2015 - Cole Gruber (Second Team), Alex Mortensen (Third Team)
2016 - Cole Gruber (First Team), Clayton Taylor (First Team)
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 second 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, Gruber 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. 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 ranked 10th nationally for RBI and 13th for RBI per game, 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 has earned three consecutive Academic All-District awards and is a two-time Academic All-Summit selection. 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 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.
Omaha has had six baseball Academic All-Americans in program history: Gruber (2015, 2016), Taylor (2016) and former Mavericks Alex Mortensen (2013, 2015) and Caleb Palensky (2014). UNO is one of two Division I baseball programs nationally to have at least one Academic All-American each of the last four years.
2016 CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA DIVISION I BASEBALL TEAM
First Team
Pos. - Name (School), Yr., Hometown, GPA, Major
P - Thomas Hackimer (St. John's (N.Y.)), Sr., Floral Park, N.Y., 3.62, Physics
P - Dylan Moore (Louisiana), So., Hughes Springs, Texas, 4.00, Political Science/Pre-Law
C - Joey Roach (2) (Georgia State), Sr., Holly Springs, N.C., 3.89, Actuarial Science
INF - David MacKinnon (Hartford), Jr., Easton, Mass., 3.94, Accounting
INF - Matt Parrish (2, #) (Campbell), Sr., McGee's Crossroads, N.C., 3.75, Mathematics
INF - Caleb Stayton (Ball State), Jr., Goshen, Ind., 3.92, Telecommunications
INF - Clayton Taylor (Omaha), Sr., Omaha, Neb., 3.82, IT Innovation
OF - Alex Call (3) (Ball State), Jr., River Falls, Wis., 3.86, Entrepreneurial Management
OF - Cole Gruber (2) (Omaha), Sr., Papillion, Neb., 3.97, Accounting
OF - Nolan Lodden (Valparaiso), Sr., West Des Moines, Iowa, 3.94, Electrical Engineering
DH - James Day (North Carolina Central), Sr., Charlotte, N.C., 3.84, History
Second Team
P - Matt Anderson (Morehead State), Sr., McDonough, Ga., 3.91, Construction Management/Civil Engineering
P - Eric Lauer (Kent State), Jr., Elyria, Ohio, 3.79, Business Management
C - Andrew Knizner (North Carolina State), Jr., Glen Allen, Va., 3.98, Industrial Engineering
INF - Tommy Edman (Stanford), Jr., San Diego, Calif., 3.84, Computer Science
INF - Jameson Fisher (Southeastern Louisiana), Jr., Zachary, La., 3.37, Kinesiology
INF - Patrick Graham (Gardner-Webb), Sr., Raleigh, N.C., 3.91, Economics
INF - Nick Solak (Louisville), Jr., Woodridge, Ill., 3.69, Finance
OF - Nate Adams (Yale), Sr., St. Louis, Mo., 3.71, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
OF - Cody Bruder (Michigan), Sr., Corona, Calif., 3.61, Evolutionary Anthropology
OF - Sean Trent (U.S. Naval Academy), Sr., Sorrento, Fla., 3.44, Ocean Engineering
DH - Matt Fiedler (Minnesota), Jr., Eagan, Minn., 3.30, Kinesiology
Third Team
P - Dustin Beggs (Kentucky), Sr., Roswell, Ga., 3.69, Integrated Strategic Communications
P - Alex Estrella (New Mexico), Gr., Las Vegas, Nev., 4.00, Business Administration
C - Chris DeVito (New Mexico), Jr., Northridge, Calif., 3.52, Criminology
INF - Trevor Ezell (Southeast Missouri State), So., Alexander, Ark., 3.92, Business Administration
INF - David Geary (VMI), Sr., Richmond, Va., 3.70, Applied Math
INF - Justin Jones (Georgia State), So., Warner Robins, Ga., 4.04, Exercise Science
INF - Taylor Jones (Gonzaga), Sr., Kent, Wash., 3.50, Applied Communications
INF - Russell Williams (U.S. Air Force Academy), Jr., McKinney, Texas, 3.75, Economics
OF - Ryan Boldt (Nebraska), Jr., Red Wing, Minn., 3.70, Nutrition Science
OF - Kaleb Duckworth (Western Kentucky), So., Henderson, Ky., 3.94, Accounting
OF - Luke Meeteer (Milwaukee), Sr., Middleton, Wis., 3.60, Kinesiology
DH - Stephen Born (U.S. Naval Academy), So., Strafford, Pa., 3.74, Operations Research
ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA OF THE YEAR: Cole Gruber (Omaha)
Key
(1) = 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team
(2) = 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team
(3) = 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team
(#) = 2014 CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team
OMAHA BASEBALL ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS
2013 - Alex Mortensen (Third Team)
2014 - Caleb Palensky (First Team)
2015 - Cole Gruber (Second Team), Alex Mortensen (Third Team)
2016 - Cole Gruber (First Team), Clayton Taylor (First Team)
Players Mentioned
Tuesday, September 01
Wednesday, August 26
Friday, August 21
Tuesday, April 21
