ABCA RELEASE

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Augsburg University baseball team was recognized Tuesday by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) with the Team Academic Excellence Award. In order to earn the honor, team's must post a team GPA of 3.0 or above for the entire 2019-20 academic year. Augsburg was one of 288 collegiate programs recognized (NCAA DI, II, III, NAIA and Junior College).

"In light of the challenges faced by so many programs across the country, we are humbled to be able to honor a record number of teams for their outstanding academic achievements," said ABCA Executive Director Craig Keilitz. "It is a testament to the leadership of our member coaches and the commitment of their student-athletes who persevered during an unprecedented academic year."

To be honored, teams had to meet the following criteria:
- Must be a high school or college team
- Head coach must be a current ABCA member
- Team must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 on a 4.0 scale during the 2019-20 academic year (Due to some schools changing to Pass/Fail grading, spring semester grades were not required to be included in the cumulative calculation).

The Augsburg baseball team completed five games in the 2020 season, posting a 4-1 record prior to the cancellation of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Head Coach Keith Bateman has now coached 51 Academic All-MIAC and nine Academic All-District award winners, one Academic All-American, and one NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient.