Clarksville, Ark.-Brett Hays and Robby Finnell have been named to the 2006 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America All-District VI Baseball Team, announced by coordinator Mark Bechenbach Thursday.
Hays, a senior first baseman from Little Rock, was named to the district first team. It is the second consecutive season he has earned the prestigious honor. He was named to the American Southwest Conference All-East Division honorable mention team this season. The 6-4, 210-pound right-hander hitter finished second on the team in RBI (34), hits (52), total bases (76), home runs (6) and runs (33). He was third in slugging percentage (.497) and fifth in batting (.340). He had 17 multiple-hit games during the 2006 season. His best game of the year came against Hendrix College when he went 4-for-4 with 6 RBI and 2 home runs. He finishes his career as the school’s all-time leader in hits (178), runs (122), games played (153), at bats (545) and fielding percentage (.983). Hays was named 2003 ASC East Division Co-Freshman of the Year after leading the team in hits (39), runs (31), total bases (57), stolen bases (10) and doubles (9). He finishes his career as a three-time All-Conference performer. A Political Science major, Hays has been named to the ASC All-Academic team three times in his career. He plans to attend Law School at University of Arkansas-Little Rock. Finnell, a sophomore outfielder from Tulsa, Okla., earns second team honors on the academic team. He was named to the ASC All-East Division honorable mention team this season. The 6-0, 215-pound right-handed hitter ranked second on the team in batting (.377) and slugging percentage (.554) and third in doubles (7), hits (49) and total bases (72). He had 13 multiple-hit games during the 2006 season. His best performance came against Hendrix College when he went 4-for-5 with 4 RBI and 2 home runs. He was named ASC Hitter of the Week in April. Finnell also saw time on the mound, finishing with a 3.80 ERA and a 2-1 record. Finnell is a Political Science major and was named to the ASC All-Academic team this season. ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI Baseball Team for the college division recognizes outstanding NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA student-athletes from the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. To be eligible for Academic All-America honors, student-athletes must be a starter with legitimate athletic achievements and maintain at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) for his career. Hays, along with the other All-District first team members from eight national districts, will have their nominations forwarded to the national ballot, from which student-athletes will be selected as Academic All-Americans.
Topics: Athletics