MIAC Release

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Four Saint John's University baseball student-athletes received 2018-19 Winter and Spring Academic All-MIAC honors on Thursday, June 27.

Those honored (listed alphabetically) include:

-Junior shortstop Michael Gruber (Glenwood, Minn./Minnewaska Area), an elementary education major with a 3.53 GPA;
-Senior outfielder Max Jackson (St. Paul, Minn./Cretin-Derham Hall), an accounting major with 3.56 GPA; 
-Senior second baseman Thomas Meland (Northfield, Minn.), a biology major (pre-medicine emphasis) with a 3.60 GPA; 
-Sophomore pitcher Nick Penick (Cold Spring, Minn./Rocori), a global business leadership major with a 3.73 GPA.

Student-athletes must be a sophomore, junior or senior academically with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.50 on a 4.00 scale to qualify for Academic All-MIAC recognition. Transfers, like freshmen, must complete a full academic year to be eligible the following season. Athletically, baseball student-athletes must compete in 50 percent of their team's varsity, regular-season contests. Pitchers must make at least five appearances or total 20 innings pitched.

The Academic All-MIAC honor is the third for Jackson in baseball and fifth overall (two in football). A two-time All-MIAC honoree, Jackson led the team in stolen bases (24) and tied for the team lead in hits (58). He became SJU's all-time leader in hits (209), games played (171), at-bats (628), runs scored (132), RBI (110), stolen bases (52) and outfield putouts (388) this spring. The 209 hits are tied for 10th-most in MIAC baseball history. Jackson started 170 consecutive games for SJU.

The Academic All-MIAC distinction is the third for Meland, who started 43 games in 2019. He recorded 30 hits, 10 of which were for extra bases, as well as 22 runs scored and 16 RBI. 

Gruber started 42 games at shortstop and batted .281 (38-for-135) with 28 RBI and 11 stolen bases. Penick made nine relief appearances and posted a 4.76 ERA and .244 opponent batting average in 11.1 innings this season.

A Google Cloud Academic All-District honoree this spring, junior third baseman Jack Schramel (St. Cloud, Minn./Cathedral) is an accounting major with a 3.49 GPA, 0.1 from the Academic All-MIAC requirement. He played all 46 games, with 45 starts at third base, and batted .311 (50-for-161) with 32 RBI, 31 runs scored, 11 doubles and two home runs.

SJU ended the 2019 season with a 32-14 record and tied for second in the MIAC by one game with a 13-7 mark. The Johnnies made their 10th consecutive appearance in the MIAC Tournament and won their fourth playoff title in the last eight seasons with a 4-1 record. SJU advanced to the NCAA Concordia Chicago Regional but went 0-2, including an opening-round, 5-4 loss in 10 innings.