Three USC Aiken Baseball Student-Athletes Tabbed PBC All-Academic

2010 Peach Belt Conference Baseball All-Academic Team

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Three USC Aiken baseball players were tabbed to the 2010 Peach Belt Conference Baseball All-Academic team. The PBC All-Academic team was released from the conference office on Tuesday, May 18.

USC Aiken’s Gary Asbill and Tyler Stephan were chosen to the second team, while Matt Key was a third team choice.

The academic award is the second of 2010 for Asbill, who was selected to the 2010 CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District III baseball first team as a catcher on May 7, 2010.

A native of Batesburg, S.C., Asbill currently owns a 3.409 Grade Point Average as an English major.

Asbill hit .279 (39-for-140) during his final season in a Pacer uniform in 2010. The Pacer catcher in 43 appearances collected 20 RBIs and scored 28 runs.

The Batesburg-Leesville High School product obtained five extra-base knocks on three doubles and two home runs.

In the field, Asbill had 209 putouts and 24 assists.

Overall, this is Asbill’s third award of the spring as he was also given the USC Aiken Male Sportsmanship Award at the USC Aiken Athletic Banquet at the end of April.

Stephan concluded his sophomore campaign with a 5-1 record on the hill in a team second-best 24 appearances. Stephan owned a 5.63 earned run average in 2010.

The southpaw from Trinity High School in Louisville, Ky. dealt 38.1 innings in total in 2010, fanning 37. He held his opposition to a .265 batting average.

In the classroom, Stephan currently boasts a 3.82 GPA as a Communications major.

An Industrial Mathematics major, Key presently owns a 3.23 GPA.

The junior from New Ellenton, S.C. finished the 2010 Pacer campaign hitting .286 (30-for-105) in 37 total appearances. Key made 30 starts for the Pacers this past season.

The Silver Bluff High School product was extremely productive in 2010, collecting 23 RBIs to go along with 24 runs scored. Key collected nine extra-base knocks in total on three doubles, five triples and one home run. The five triples tied him for the team lead in the category.

The Peach Belt Conference Baseball All-Academic team is part of a season-long program recognizing the outstanding accomplishments of PBC student-athletes in the classroom as well as on the field.

To be eligible for the All-Academic team, a student-athlete must 1) participate in at least half of his/her team’s events and be either a starter or significant contributor; 2) achieved a 3.20 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) and 3) completed at least one full academic year at his or her current institution. The Peach Belt Conference Sports Information Directors oversee and select the teams.

Founded in 1991, the Peach Belt Conference is home to 29 NCAA Division II National Championships. The PBC features 13 member institutions in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Alabama that compete in 13 championship sports. The 2009-10 members of the PBC are Augusta State University, Armstrong Atlantic State University, Clayton State University, Columbus State University, Flagler College, Francis Marion University, Georgia College & State University, Georgia Southwestern State University, Lander University, University of Montevallo, North Georgia College & State University, University of North Carolina at Pembroke and the University of South Carolina Aiken.