Watkins And Yorgen Earn Academic All-America Honors
June 02, 2017 | Baseball
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AUSTIN, Texas – East Carolina seniors Travis Watkins and Charlie Yorgen have been named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Team according to an announcement by the organization Friday afternoon.
Watkins (first team) and Yorgen (third team) are the fifth and sixth players in program history to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors joining Steve Sides (1987), Lee Kushner (1993), current ECU skipper Cliff Godwin (1999, 2001) and Sam Narron (2001-02). The duo's selection marks just the second time that the Pirates have had multiple selections in the same year following Godwin and Narron in 2001.
To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA (on a 4.0 scale) at his current institution. No student-athlete is eligible until he has completed one full calendar year at his current institution and has reached sophomore athletic eligibility.
"This is a tremendous honor for both Travis and Charlie," Godwin said. "For our program to have two young men receive Academic All-America honors in the same year is very special. We are so proud of them for their efforts and for also being great ambassadors for East Carolina University."
Watkins, who is currently pursuing his MBA, is a two-time member of the American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team. One of four 2017 First-Team Academic All-America selections that boasts a 4.00 GPA, the Concord, N.C. native garnered Conference USA Commissioner's Honor accolades during his freshman and sophomore seasons and is a 10-time ECU Director of Athletics Honor Roll member. A year ago, he graduated magna cum laude, earned his degree in business management, was named ECU Male Scholar Athlete-of-the-Year, Mr. Pirate at the Annual Goldspys and was selected to the 2016-17 Potash Corp Aurora All-Academic Team. This season, he was one of 11 male student-athletes to receive an Institutional Male Scholar-Athlete Award from The American.
A five-time Johnny Bench Award Watch List candidate and three-time semi-finalist, Watkins earned First-Team All-AAC honors after leading the Pirates in 10 categories including fielding percentage (.994), hits (84), home runs (10), and multi-hit games (27), RBI (49), slugging percentage (.526) and total bases (130). He batted .340 with 47 runs scored and was named to the 2017 AAC All-Tournament Team after hitting at a .294 clip (5-for-17) with a home run and six RBI.
Yorgen, a magna cum laude business management graduate, sported a 3.72 GPA and is a two-time American All-Academic Team selection. In 2014, his freshman year, he was a Conference USA Academic Medal Winner and Honor Roll member and has earned ECU Director of Athletics Honor Roll status eight times (Fall 2013 to present). For the month of April, he was named ECU Student Athlete-of-the-Month and during the Breakfast of Champions event was recognized as the recipient of the 2017 Pat Draughon Postgraduate Scholarship. At the Fourth Annual Goldspys, he was selected Mr. Pirate, which is presented to the male student-athlete that excels both in the classroom and in athletics, while also contributing to the community. The Chesapeake, Va. native spearheaded the baseball team's Mustache March fundraiser, which has raised over $11,000 for ALS awareness the past two years.
He closed out his senior season as a unanimous First-Team All-AAC selection batting .339 (78-for-230) with five home runs and 38 RBI. Yorgen led the club in six offensive categories including hit by pitches (12), multi-RBI games (12), on-base percentage (.438), runs (49), triples (2) and walks (29).
AUSTIN, Texas – East Carolina seniors Travis Watkins and Charlie Yorgen have been named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Team according to an announcement by the organization Friday afternoon.
Watkins (first team) and Yorgen (third team) are the fifth and sixth players in program history to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America honors joining Steve Sides (1987), Lee Kushner (1993), current ECU skipper Cliff Godwin (1999, 2001) and Sam Narron (2001-02). The duo's selection marks just the second time that the Pirates have had multiple selections in the same year following Godwin and Narron in 2001.
To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA (on a 4.0 scale) at his current institution. No student-athlete is eligible until he has completed one full calendar year at his current institution and has reached sophomore athletic eligibility.
"This is a tremendous honor for both Travis and Charlie," Godwin said. "For our program to have two young men receive Academic All-America honors in the same year is very special. We are so proud of them for their efforts and for also being great ambassadors for East Carolina University."
Watkins, who is currently pursuing his MBA, is a two-time member of the American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team. One of four 2017 First-Team Academic All-America selections that boasts a 4.00 GPA, the Concord, N.C. native garnered Conference USA Commissioner's Honor accolades during his freshman and sophomore seasons and is a 10-time ECU Director of Athletics Honor Roll member. A year ago, he graduated magna cum laude, earned his degree in business management, was named ECU Male Scholar Athlete-of-the-Year, Mr. Pirate at the Annual Goldspys and was selected to the 2016-17 Potash Corp Aurora All-Academic Team. This season, he was one of 11 male student-athletes to receive an Institutional Male Scholar-Athlete Award from The American.
A five-time Johnny Bench Award Watch List candidate and three-time semi-finalist, Watkins earned First-Team All-AAC honors after leading the Pirates in 10 categories including fielding percentage (.994), hits (84), home runs (10), and multi-hit games (27), RBI (49), slugging percentage (.526) and total bases (130). He batted .340 with 47 runs scored and was named to the 2017 AAC All-Tournament Team after hitting at a .294 clip (5-for-17) with a home run and six RBI.
Yorgen, a magna cum laude business management graduate, sported a 3.72 GPA and is a two-time American All-Academic Team selection. In 2014, his freshman year, he was a Conference USA Academic Medal Winner and Honor Roll member and has earned ECU Director of Athletics Honor Roll status eight times (Fall 2013 to present). For the month of April, he was named ECU Student Athlete-of-the-Month and during the Breakfast of Champions event was recognized as the recipient of the 2017 Pat Draughon Postgraduate Scholarship. At the Fourth Annual Goldspys, he was selected Mr. Pirate, which is presented to the male student-athlete that excels both in the classroom and in athletics, while also contributing to the community. The Chesapeake, Va. native spearheaded the baseball team's Mustache March fundraiser, which has raised over $11,000 for ALS awareness the past two years.
He closed out his senior season as a unanimous First-Team All-AAC selection batting .339 (78-for-230) with five home runs and 38 RBI. Yorgen led the club in six offensive categories including hit by pitches (12), multi-RBI games (12), on-base percentage (.438), runs (49), triples (2) and walks (29).
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