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The Mount Vernon Nazarene College baseball team was well-represented when the NAIA recently announced its baseball All-Americans and Academic All-Americans.
Mike Waddell, Mark Coulter, and Justin Clarey were each selected to the NAIA Honorable Mention All-American Team, while Coulter and Jeff Wine received NAIA Academic All-American status.
Waddell, a senior outfielder/pitcher from Cardington, Ohio, was named to the NAIA Honorable Mention All-American Team for the second straight year after batting .436 with a team-high 72 hits in 165 at bats. The former Cardington-Lincoln High School standout led MVNC with 12 home runs, 59 runs batted in, and a school record-tying 21 doubles. He also recorded three triples and 44 runs scored. On the mound, Waddell posted a 6-1 record with a 7.25 earned run average and 44 strikeouts.
Coulter, a junior first baseman/pitcher from Lewistown, Pennsylvania, became only the third Cougar player to earn both NAIA All-American and Academic All-American honors in the same year as he joined former players Jeff Kuder (1988) and Jeff Lavin (1999). The former Lewistown Area High School product batted .374 with eight doubles, 10 home runs, 52 RBI, and 30 runs scored. He also posted a 9-3 record on the mound with a 3.57 ERA and a team-high 59 strikeouts. A Biology/Secondary Education major, Coulter has compiled a 3.635 grade point average.
Clarey, a freshman catcher from Columbus, Ohio, started in 46 of the team's 51 games this season and posted a .377 batting average. The former Hilliard Darby High School star also registered six doubles, three triples, six home runs, 32 RBI, and 11 runs scored.
Wine, a senior outfielder from Bourbonnais, Illinois, started in all 51 games for MVNC and committed just two errors in 96 chances. The former Bradley-Bourbonnais High School standout compiled a .377 batting average with a school record-tying eight triples. He also recorded 11 doubles, six home runs, 37 RBI, 12 stolen bases, and a team-high 54 runs scored. A Biology/Pre-Medicine major, Wine has posted a 3.605 grade point average.
The Cougars finished the season with a 35-16 overall record. The team finished second in the American Mideast Conference with a 16-6 mark. MVNC was also the runner-up in the NAIA Region IX Tournament and a semifinalist at the National Christian College Athletic Association National Tournament.
