KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced today that 439 baseball student-athletes, including Bellevue University's Mitch Savine (Omaha, Neb.), have been named Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes.
In order to be nominated by an institution's head coach or sports information director, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and must have achieved a junior academic status.
The NAIA Scholar-Athlete honor was the first of Savine's career.
Robert Morris-Chicago led all institutions with 16 selections while Indiana Tech., Indiana Wesleyan, Texas College, and University of Antelope Valley tied for the second largest total with eight selections apiece.
Savine, a senior pitcher, is majoring in Business Administration and was named the BU Male Academic Athlete of the Year earlier this month. He pitched to a 6-3 record and 5.68 ERA over 58.2 innings on the year. He struck out 41 batters and issued just 16 walks across 19 appearances, including six starts.
Bellevue concluded the 2019 season with a 48-16 overall record and 23-1 mark in North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) play. Bellevue closed the year by winning 41 of their final 44 games en route to earning the program's 14th Avista NAIA World Series Appearance. The Bruins claimed both the NSAA Regular-Season and Tournament titles before going on to win the NAIA Opening Round – Shreveport Bracket.
