TOWSON, Md. --- Tusculum College's Taylor Rakes and Cody Coffman have been named to the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America® NCAA Division II Baseball First Team, as selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

The Tusculum duo becomes the third and fourth Academic All-Americans® in program history joining former second baseman Mike Calano (2003) and first baseman Dustin Morrow (2008).

Rakes, a 6-1, 160-pound redshirt junior from Norcross, Ga., has a 3.89 cumulative grade point average with a double major in Business and Economics and was named one of the two first team pitchers on the Academic All-America® roster.

Rakes earned his Bachelor's degree earlier this month from Tusculum, graduating with honors and earning Magna Cum Laude distinction. 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 enjoyed a stellar campaign after redshirting the 2011 season due to "Tommy John" surgery. He emerged as the No. 2 starter in Tusculum's weekend rotation, where he posted a 10-1 record with a 3.18 earned run average. His 15 mound starts are tied for the most in a TC single-season and are the seventh most in NCAA II this year and his 10 pitching wins are tied for the third most by a Pioneer, and currently 11th-best in the country.

For his career, Rakes has a sterling 19-6 record and is tied fourth all-time in career victories and is tied for third with his 32 career starts. His six career complete games are eighth in TC history, while his 195.2 career innings pitched are seventh all-time.

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 and was named the first team catcher on the Academic All-America® squad.

Coffman split time at catcher and first base this season, while also seeing action at second base and designated hitter as he was named to the Daktronics DII All-America Team as a utility player. Coffman becomes only the third TC student-athlete in school history to garner both All-America and Academic All-America® distinction (Jarrell NeSmith - Football; Chase Carroll - Men's Golf).

The All-South Atlantic Conference Second Team catcher led the Pioneers with his .417 batting average, which is currently 13th in NCAA II and the eighth-best average ever by a TC player. Coffman is fourth in the country with his 90 hits (4th in TC history), including19 doubles, a triple, nine home runs and 62 RBI. Coffman's 19 doubles are 27th in the nation and tied for eighth in TC history. He has scored 52 runs, while drawing 41 walks (25th in NCAA II) against just 17 strikeouts.

During this season, Coffman posted a 26-game hitting streak, the second longest in school history. He wrapped up his collegiate career reaching base safely in 39 consecutive games, including a home run in his final collegiate at-bat against eventual NCAA regional winner Catawba.

At the NCAA Southeast Regional in Mount Olive, N.C., Coffman batted .533 (8-for-15) with four RBI, including two home runs and a triple. For his efforts, he was named to the Southeast Regional All-Tournament Team at first base.

In his two-year career at Tusculum, Coffman posted the seventh-best batting average in school history at .391 in his 105 games in a Pioneer uniform. He recorded 141 hits, including 28 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs and 97 RBI. His .485 career on-base percentage is tied for the third highest in school history.

Coffman is a member of the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, Athletic Director's Honor Roll and the Dean's List.

Tusculum accounted for one of the best seasons in school history in 2012. The Pioneers posted a sterling 48-10 record, including 24-3 in South Atlantic Conference play as TC captured both the league's regular season and tournament championships. Tusculum advanced to the NCAA Tournament for a sixth time in school history where the Pioneers went 2-2 to finish third at the Southeast Regional. TC also earned the Pioneers its highest national ranking, being listed as the No. 2 team in the country. They are currently listed at No. 8 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Coaches' Poll.

This is the first year of the expanded Academic All‐America® program as CoSIDA moves from recognizing a University Division (Division I) and a College Division (all non‐Division I) and doubles the number of scholar‐athletes honored. The teams include NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III participants, while the College Division team combines NAIA, Canadian and two‐year schools.

The Capital One Division II Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II national governance structure to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2011-12 Division II Academic All-America® teams program.

To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 14,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.

- CoSIDA -

2012 Capital One Division II Academic All-America® Baseball Team
(as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America)

FIRST TEAM
Pos. Name School
P Ryan Griffin Lindenwood
P Taylor Rakes Tusculum
C Cody Coffman Tusculum
IF Bryan Lippincott Concordia St. Paul
IF Drake Austin Quincy
IF Andrew Ciennik Wayne State
IF Joe Wendle West Chester
OF Phil Imholte St. Cloud State
OF Antonio Callaway Mount Olive
OF Chris Eichten SW Minnesota State
DH Mitch Wolfe Eastern New Mexico

SECOND TEAM
Pos. Name School
P Mark Himmelberg Rockhurst
P Elias Tuma (1) California San Diego
C Devon Myers Truman State
IF Nick Adams Rollins
IF Josh Chism Arkansas Monticello
IF Jacob Karr Wingate
IF Bret Schwartz Central Missouri
OF David Atwood Young Harris
OF Josh Haley UNC Pembroke
OF Buddy Sosnoskie Francis Marion
OF Bryant Walker King (Tenn.)
DH Andy Hall Missouri Science & Tech.

THIRD TEAM
Pos. Name School
P Tim Flight Southern New Hampshire
P Ryan Thompson Franklin Pierce
C Kevin Spatkowski Southern New Hampshire
IF Eitan Maoz UNC Pembroke
IF Doug Snover Angelo State
IF Adam Thygesen SW Minnesota State
IF Robbie Zinsmeister Indiana (Pa.)
OF Joe Petosa Felician
OF Lee Voth-Gaeddert Missouri Science & Tech.
DH Clayton Miller Armstrong Atlantic State

Academic All-American of the Year: Brian Lippincott, Concordia St. Paul (Minn.)