(Posted May 11, 2006)

Huntingdon, PA - Juniata College senior baseball player Will Russell (Tyrone/Tyrone) has been selected to the 2006 ESPN The Magazine Baseball College Division Academic All-District II Team for the second-consecutive season. Ruseell earned second-team recognition at one of the five infield positions after being recognized as a first-team infield selection in his junior campaign. The District II Team consists of two 11-player teams. Each team includes two pitchers, a catcher, four infielders, three outfielders and a utility/dh position.

Russell ranks as one of the most prolific offensive players in the history of the Juniata baseball program. After an injury plagued freshman season, he claimed the starting second base position as a sophomore and held it the next three seasons. He was an All-Conference choice at second base both his sophomore and junior year, while the All-Conference honors for the 2006 season has not yet been released. He knocked out 45 hits this season, which ranked fourth on the Juniata team, while his 28 RBI were fifth on the squad. He also produced 13 extra-base hits on the year, including nine doubles which ranked third on the team Russell also added 23 runs scored on the season while hitting .276.

Despite registering just 13 at-bats in his freshman season, Russell ranks among the Juniata career leaders in several offensive categories. He knocked out 147 hits over his career which ranks as the ninth-highest career total in the program's history. He also established a new school record with 56 hits in his junior year, one of three times he pounded out 40 or more hits in a season. He knocked in 76 runs over his four years, which puts him in a tie for seventh place in Juniata history. Russell also scored 72 runs over his career and produced 24 doubles, five triples and four home runs. He has a career batting average of .310.

In the classroom Russell held a cumulative grade point average of 3.84 on a 4.0 scale heading into his final semester. He will earn a degree in accounting and is a member of the Tau Pi Phi Business Honor Society. He was a three-time member of the MASCAC Academic Honor Roll and earned Dean's List recognition each of his semesters at Juniata. Russell was also a member of the Juniata Students of Business club and was the recipient of the Rinehart Endowed Merit Scholarship in Business Administration.

Russell's honor marks the third-consecutive season the Juniata baseball program has placed at least one player on the College Division Academic All-District Team.

The members of The College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) by district select the ESPN The Magazine College Division All-District Teams. The District II College Division consists of all non-NCAA Division I Colleges and Universities in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. To be nominated for the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America program, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore with a 3.2 cumulative grade-point average and be a starter or significant reserve.

###

Our readers respond...

Be the first to provide a response.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.