Epp Named Academic All-America Team Member of the Year

06/08/2023

AUSTIN, Texas - William Jewell senior baseball player Alex Epp has been named the Academic All-America Team Member of the Year, recognizing him as the top student-athlete in Division II baseball. This is the first Team Member of the Year honor in school history in any sport while he is receiving his second consecutive Academic All-America First Team selection. The Academic All-America program takes into account both the academic and athletic success of players and is selected by a vote of College Sports Communicators (CSC) from around the country.

Epp is a senior civil engineering major from Wichita, Kansas, and is a repeat first team selection. He holds a 3.91 cumulative GPA. 
 
A shortstop for Jewell, he was recently named a second team All-American by the NCAA Division II Conference Commissioners Association. He broke his own school NCAA era single-season record for batting average with a mark of .435 at the plate this season. He led the team with 80 hits, 16 doubles, eight home runs and 49 RBI. He also broke the single-season record with 48 walks while having 21 multi-hit games. Epp earned First Team All-Great Lakes Valley Conference honors along with all-region accolades from D2CCA, ABCA and the NCBWA. 
 
Epp is one of six repeat selections from the 2022 Academic All-America® Division II baseball team. He is joined by these returning selections: Corey Avant (Wingate University), Lewis Beals (Hillsdale College), Harrison Rodgers (Colorado Mesa University), Cody Smith (Harding University) and Greyson Stevens (Henderson State University). He is joined by Jake Gelof (University of Viriginia), Tyler Horvat (Washington & Jefferson College) and Eric Maffie (University of Saint Francis (Ill.)) as the top honorees in Division I, II, III and NAIA.
 
The Division II team boasts a 3.81 average GPA with a 3.89 average for the first team. Seven of the 36 Division II selections have a cumulative 4.0 grade point average.
 
The Division II Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II national governance structure to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2022-23 Division II Academic All-America® program.