SHAWNEE – Oklahoma Baptist's
Dan Pruitt,
Alex Schroeder and
Kade Self were named All-America selections by two entities on Thursday: the Conference Commissioners Association and the National College Baseball Writers Association.
Making the CCA list were Pruitt, who garnered second team accolades, and Schroeder, who was placed on the honorable mention team. As for the NCBWA, that publication honored Schroeder and Self as honorable mention honorees.
This is the first time in the D2 era (2016-pres.) that multiple Bison were selected to more than one All-America team. It is also the first time in OBU's D2 history that two Bison earned All-America honors in the same season.
Furthermore, the last occurrence of multiple All-America selections came during the 2015 NAIA season when five were chosen.
Staring at first base, Pruitt had a year to remember. He was the GAC's Player of the Year, an All-GAC First Team selection, and he was selected to a couple (NCBWA, ABCA/Rawlings) all-region team lists.
Over the course of 49 games, he batted .390, tied a school record with 24 home runs, notched an incredible .909 slugging mark and tallied 170 bases. The Oklahoma City native also collected 17 stolen bases, boasted a .995 fielding percentage and scored 70 runs. Pruitt consistently ranked among the NCAA's best in nearly 10 offensive categories over the course of the year.
For Schroeder, who was OBU's primary catcher, he registered 21 homers, 64 RBI and a .322 batting average. His home run and RBI tallies were ranked in the top 44 in Division II. The Rocklin, California native also was outstanding defensively, posting a .996 fielding percentage with 232 putouts.
Among Schroeder's award-list selections, he was an All-GAC Second Team honoree and a D2CCA All-Central Region and NCBWA All-Region member.
Playing as the team's primary designated hitter was Self. The hometown slugger registered a team-best .397 average and collected 13 homers. Both of those marks were ranked in the top-ten of the GAC. He also scored 39 runs, drove in 47 and tied for the team lead with 15 two-baggers.
Self was also an All-GAC First Team selection and NCBWA and D2CCA All-Region honoree.
