Ball State University Athletics
Dygert Named to Academic All-America Second Team
May 31, 2005 | Baseball
MUNCIE, Ind. - - Ball State baseball junior infielder Kyle Dygert (Angola, Ind./Angola H.S.) has been named to the 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Baseball Second Team. Dygert is the fifth baseball player in school history to earn second-team honors and is the 14th to be honored on an Academic All-America team in school annals.
The Academic All-America team is voted on by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). To qualify, student-athletes must be of at least sophomore status, own a minimum grade-point average of 3.20 or higher and be a starter or key reserve on their respective teams.
Dygert - - a junior exercise science major with a 3.90 GPA - - is a first-time ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Second Team honoree, after earning All-District V accolades for the first time earlier in the year. A .355 (76-for-214) hitter during the 2005 season, Dygert helped guide the Cardinals to a 38-18 (17-5 Mid-American Conference) record during the season. The 38 wins rank as the fourth-most in a single season in school history, while the 17-5 league record earned the team the 2005 MAC West Division title.
In addition to the national honor, Dygert was named MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week (April 28) after compiling an .800 (8-for-10) batting average the previous week, including a career-high five hits in the Cardinals' 17-4 rout of in-state rival Indiana (April 19).
Dygert's .355 season batting average ranked sixth in the MAC, while his 76 hits ranked fourth in the league. In MAC-only contests, Dygert also ranked sixth in batting with a .396 average. In addition, he ranked fourth in on base percentage (.474), tied for fourth in hits (33) and tied for seventh in runs scored (22).
During the 2005 campaign, Dygert drove in five game-winning RBI, including the winning run in the Cardinals 11-inning thriller over Bowling Green in the opening round of the MAC Tournament. He also scored four game-winning runs in 2005. He finished the season ranked second on the team in batting (.355), hits (76) and walks (25); third in runs scored (44), RBI (48) and on-base percentage (.420); and fourth in slugging percentage (.481).
A starter in 55 of BSU's 56 games, Dygert tied Mike Sullivan (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso H.S.) with the team's longest hitting streak of the season - - 14 games - - and topped the club in games with two-or-more hits (25).
