University of Southern Indiana senior All-American first baseman/leftfielder Drake McNamara is the 2018 Great Lakes Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year for baseball after a vote by the league’s faculty athletic representatives. McNamara becomes the third USI baseball student athlete to earn the honor, following Matt Keener in 2005 and Darin Mastroianni in 2007.
McNamara, who received All-America honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and the Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA), had a record-setting season for the Eagles in 2018. He led the team with a .381 batting average and single-season records of 79 RBIs and 17 home runs. The 2018 NCBWA and ABCA All-Midwest Region Player of the Year also set the USI career-record for home runs (33) and finished third in total bases (405) and second in RBIs (182).
In addition to the All-America honors and Midwest Region Player of the Year awards, McNamara was named first-team All-Midwest Region by all three organizations; the Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Year; and first-team All-GLVC East Division. The senior batted .417 (35-84) in 24 GLVC games this spring with 11 home runs, 34 RBIs, 10 doubles, and 27 runs scored.
USI and McNamara finished the 2018 campaign with a 36-23 overall record; an appearance in the NCAA II Baseball Championship; the program’s fifth NCAA II Midwest Region Championship; a 15-9 record in the GLVC; and a third-place showing in the GLVC Tournament.
