Mercer Baseball’s Garett Delano and RJ Yeager have been named CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team honorees, as recently announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
“I am proud of RJ and Garett!” remarked head coach Craig Gibson. “One of the areas we pride ourselves and our program on is the academic success of our student/athletes. To be named a CoSIDA Academic All-American is a very special honor that these guys worked very hard to achieve this accomplishment.”
Delano, a graduate student from Callahan, Florida, was an infielder and right-handed pitcher. Following the season, Delano earned Second Team All-American honors from the Collegiate Baseball Foundation and Third Team All-American honors by D1 Baseball. He led the team with a .337 batting average and 52 RBI. Delano showed off his power with nine home runs and 13 doubles. On the mound, he made 15 appearances — 12 starts and three in relief. He posted a 6-1 record and 4.32 ERA, tallying 60 strikeouts to only 20 walks and held opponents to a .231 average through a team-high 81.1 innings. Delano was a finalist for the John Olreud Two-Way Player of the Year, given to the best two-way player in the country.
Yeager, a junior infielder from Lynn Haven, Florida, hit .308 with 13 home runs and finished second on the team with 50 RBI, the seventh-highest total in the Southern Conference. He had on-base percentage of .363 and stole 10 bases. Out of his 72 hits, 32 went for extra bases. Yeager has hit 28 career home runs, the program’s second-most by an active player. In the field, Yeager has a fielding percentage of .969 with 72 putouts and 145 assists. Yeager was a finalist for the Brooks Wallace Award, which is presented to the best shortstop in the nation.
Continue reading about the CoSIDA Academic All-America Teams at mercerbears.com.
