<rleton College senior Nolan Baker (Appleton, Wis./Appleton North) was named as the designated hitter on the Academic All-District First Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The award recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their performance both on the field and in the classroom. Baker is an Economics major with a 3.32 GPA, and he ranked among the MIAC leaders with a .365 batting average and 41 RBI.
Baker is one of five MIAC players named to District 6’s first team and one of 91 Division III student-athletes across the nation to win this award.
A .337 career hitter, Baker collected a team-best 15 doubles this season. He was second on the Knights in extra-base hits (21), surpassing his combined total over his first three years donning the maize and blue. He slugged his first four career home runs and posted a .547 slugging percentage, ranking second on the team in both categories.
An All-Region performer in 2014, Baker’s 41 RBI this season rank third in the MIAC and are the third-most in recorded Carleton baseball history. He also went 2-3 with a 4.97 ERA over eight games on the mound in 2015, including six starts. He closed the season with his second career shutout, a five-hitter at Lawrence University on May 3.
Baker continues the Carleton Baseball tradition of combining both academic and athletic success. This is the sixth Academic All-District selection for the Knights over the last eight seasons. First-team Academic All-District honorees advance to the national Academic All-America ballot, where first-, second- and third-team honorees will be selected later this month.