2017 NCAA Division II Baseball CoSIDA Academic All-America Team

AUSTIN, Texas – Senior outfielder Nick Debo added yet another notable entry to his collegiate resume on Thursday afternoon when the Durham native was one of just 34 NCAA Division II baseball student-athletes nationwide to be decorated with Capital One Academic All-America recognition, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced.
 
The laurel is widely considered to be the most prestigious academic honor that can be bestowed upon a collegiate student-athlete. To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average 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.
 
Debo becomes just the fourth player in UNC Pembroke baseball history to achieve the honor, joining former standouts Josh Haley (2012), Eitan "E.T." Maoz (2012) and Zade Denton (2015) on that short list, both of whom earned the laurel in 2012. He is the first player in program history to earn both all-American and academic all-American accolades.
 
Montevallo's Matthew Furuto and Georgia College's Clayton Ayres were the only other Peach Belt Conference student-athletes included in Thursday's announcement.
 
While maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade point average as a political science major, Debo played in 56 games (52 starts) for the Braves this season and was lauded all-PBC honors after hitting .372 (68-for-183) with 23 extra-base hits (10 HR), 47 RBI and 60 runs scored. An all-region selection by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) as well, Debo committed just one error in 129 total defensive chances (.992), while also swiping 23 bases on 29 attempts.
 
A two-year starter at UNCP, Debo played in 105 games (101 starts) over his collegiate career in Pembroke and boasted a .358 (137-for-383) career batting average with 44 extra-base hits (22 HR), 87 RBI and 109 runs scored. He hit .311 (73-for-235) with 20 extra-base hits (3 HR), 48 RBI and 46 runs scored in his first two seasons at Brunswick Community College.