The United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) announced its' All-American and End of the Year Award winners for baseball and softball during the Homerun Derby at Showers Field, as part of the small college national championship events. Five Kent State University at Tuscarawas spring athletes were recognized for their athletic and academic accomplishments.
Karlee Peach, a graduating senior who played first base for the Golden Eagles was selected as a USCAA Second Team All-American. She was a steady force in fielding and ranked 1st in the USCAA in batting average with a scorching .600 average. She had 15 hits in 25 at bats in a COVID shortened season to go along with two doubles and nine RBIs. Peach struck out just twice this season and her on base percentage was .677, while her slugging percentage was .680---which placed her 1st and 8th in the USCAA respectively. She graduated last week with a bachelor's degree in business management. She also earned Academic All-American status in three of her four years at KSU Tuscarawas.
Freshman, Harley Mason received a USCAA Honorable Mention and was recently named the USCAA National Player of the Week for April 27. In a pair of games, she pitched 14 innings, gave up just six hits, walked two batters and struck out 24. She also batted 11/15 (.733) in those games and knocked in 11 RBIs and hit her first collegiate home run. On the season, she ranked 4th in the USCAA batting .500 on 15 hits in 32 plate appearances and struck out just once. She had three doubles, one triple and a homer to go along with 13 RBIs and also scored nine runs. Her on base percentage was .531 (6th in the USCAA) and her slugging percentage .767, which ranked her 3rd in the USCAA. She was 3-2 as a pitcher with two complete games and one shutout. Over 28 innings of work she struck out 34 batters, issued just five walks, had an ERA of 2.25 (5th in the USCAA) and averaged 8.50 strikeouts per game (3rd in the USCAA).
Three Golden Eagles earned spots on the 2021 USCAA Baseball and Softball Academic All-American Teams. The award is designed to recognize a student-athletes (sophomores, juniors, and seniors at four-year institutions and sophomores at two-year institutions) who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 (on a 4.00-point system) or greater.
Golden Eagles hot corner, Kyle Stotzer, a Tusky Valley product, graduated last week with a bachelor's degree in early childhood education and earned a 3.642 GPA to make the USCAA Baseball Academic All-American team. Stotzer is a three-time USCAA Academic All-American. Softball pitcher, Mallory Wolf, a graduate of Claymont High School, was selected to the USCAA Softball Academic All-American Team after earning a 3.763 GPA for the 2020-21 academic year while majoring in pre-med. Early childhood education major, Dessa Dubbert from Sandusky Perkins High School, played third base and earned a 3.730 GPA to gain Academic All-American honors as well. She also had a slugging percentage of .630 while batting .333.
Kent State Tuscarawas student athletes have earned 25 USCAA Academic All-American honors and 12 USCAA All-American awards in five years of membership in the association.
The entire list of All-Americans and Academic All-Americans can be found at the following links:
To learn more about the athletic programs at Kent State Tuscarawas, visit www.flyhighgoldeneagles.com.