Luken and Kidd Named to Academic All-District Baseball Team

Baldwin-Wallace College senior second baseman Nate Luken and junior center fielder Cody Kidd have been named to ESPN The Magazine‘s 2008 Academic All–District IV baseball team.

The Academic All–District IV team is selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America and honors outstanding ballplayers from Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama who have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.2.

Luken and Kidd were selected to the first team of the district’s College Division, which includes players from NCAA Division II and Division III schools and the NAIA.

Luken had his best season as a Yellow Jacket this year, batting .321 with 20 runs scored and 18 runs batted in and posting a .969 fielding average. He was a first team Academic All–Ohio Athletic Conference pick as a junior and won B-W‘s Guy Fisher Award for Academic Excellence in 2006. His numerous academic accolades also include the dean’s list and membership in the Alpha Lambda, Chi Sigma Alpha, Dayton C. Miller and Pi Gamma Mu honor societies, as well as the J. Edgar Hoover Foundation Criminal Justice Award. He finished his academic career at B-W with a 3.86 GPA in criminal justice and will start law school at The Ohio State University this fall.

Kidd, who plans to attend medical school after his senior season, carries a 3.80 GPA in biology. He’s on the dean’s list and is a member of Alpha Lamda. He was a second team Academic All-District pick last year. This season, the All-OAC and Academic All-OAC center fielder hit .387 and led the Jackets with 60 hits, 34 runs, four triples and 13 stolen bases while making just two errors.

[ B-W Baseball Academic All–District IV Selections ]