WINGATE, N.C. --- Tusculum College's Taylor Rakes and Cody Coffman have been named to the 2012 Capital One Division II Academic All-District 3 Baseball First Team, as selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
The Tusculum duo advances to the Academic All-America®
ballot, which will be announced later this month.
Rakes, a 6-1, 160-pound junior from Norcross, Ga., has a 3.88
cumulative grade point average with a double major in Business and
Economics. The Norcross High School graduate was named the 2012
South Atlantic Conference Scholar Athlete for Baseball, while also
earning a spot on the All-SAC Second Team.
Rakes has enjoyed a stellar campaign after redshirting the 2011 season due to "Tommy John" surgery. He has emerged as the No. 2 starter in Tusculum's weekend rotation, where he has a 9-1 record with a 3.43 earned run average. His 14 mound starts are tied for the third most in a TC single-season and one shy of a school record. His 14 starts are the fifth most in NCAA Division II this year and his nine pitching wins are 14th in the country.
For his career, Rakes has a sterling 18-6 record and is tied sixth all-time in career victories and is tied for third with his 31 career starts.
Rakes is a member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, Tusculum Athletic Director's Honor Roll, Charles Oliver Gray Honors List, President's List and is a member of the Alpha Chi Honor Society. He is very active in leadership and community service in the Tusculum College and Greeneville community. He has been active with the Pioneer Student Athlete Advisory Council's fundraising efforts for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, American Cancer Society and the St. Baldrick's "Basebald" program to aid childhood cancer research. He has volunteered as a Greeneville Youth Baseball Mentor, served a guest speaker in Tusculum Athletic Training and his experiences with his "Tommy John" surgery and, along with his father, provided free lawn care services for stationed armed forces personnel.
Coffman, a 6-1, 210-pound senior from Cape Coral, Fla., has a 3.59 GPA while majoring in Physical Therapy.
Coffman earned All-SAC Second Team honors last month and is currently leading the team with his .408 batting average, which is 34th in NCAA II. The Ida Baker High School graduate is also fourth in the nation in hits (82), 12th in RBI (58), 13th in doubles (19), 14th in walks (40), 20th in total bases (122), 31st in on-base percentage (.504) and 43rd in runs scored. In last weekend's series opener against Montevallo, Coffman went 0-for-2, snapping a 26-game hitting streak, which is the second longest in recorded school history. Two of his four home runs this year have been grand slams.
Coffman's batting average this year is the 12th best in school history and his 82 hits so far are the seventh most ever by a Pioneer. In his two seasons at Tusculum, Coffman has gone 133-for-346 at the plate for a .384 batting average, which is eighth-best by a Pioneer. His .481 career on-base percentage is fifth all-time at Tusculum.
Coffman is a member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, Athletic Director's Honor Roll and the Dean's List.
District 3 is comprised of colleges and universities representing the South Atlantic Conference, Conference and the Peach Belt Conference.
- CoSIDA -
