Wednesday, May 3, 2023

PORTLAND, Ore. – Central Washington’s Austin Ohland and Nolan Murphy lead 54 selections to the GNAC 2023 Baseball All-Academic Team, presented by Barnes & Noble College, with 3.98 grade point averages.

Ohland, a junior from Maple Valley, Washington, returns to the All-Academic Team as a three-time honoree with his 3.98 GPA as a business administration major. He has been one of the top power-batters this season, ranking third in the GNAC with eight home runs and second for the Wildcats with a .440 slugging percentage. Ohland is one of only three players to have appeared in all 46 games for CWU this season and is the only player on the roster to start every contest.

Murphy, an undeclared sophomore from Wasilla, Alaska has appeared in six games this season for the Wildcats. He ranks 11th for CWU with eight strikeouts and eighth with four batters struck out looking.

Ohland and Murpy headline a Central Washington team that leads all five GNAC programs with 15 All-Academic selections. Western Oregon has 14 honorees while Saint Martin’s has 11. Both Montana State Billings and Northwest Nazarene have seven selections.

The All-Academic team features 20 repeat selections, including six three-time honorees. Western Oregon leads all teams with a trio of three-time honorees in seniors Justyn Herzog, Derek Maiben and Jacob Maiben.

Herzog owns a 3.51 GPA as an exercise science major and is one of two players to have appeared in all 38 of WOU’s games this season. Herzog ranks fifth for the Wolves with a .271 batting average and is tied for second on the team with 28 RBIs. He has also been one of the most patient batters on the team is also second for WOU with 15 walks drawn.

Derek Maiben has also appeared in every game for the Wolves this season while leading the GNAC with a .424 batting average. He ranks in the conference with 64 hits and is fifth with a .458 on base percentage. Derek Maiben leads Western Oregon in stolen bases once again with 13 on the season. He earned his third All-Academic selection with a 3.51 GPA as an interdisciplinary studies major.

Jacob Maiben leads Western Oregon’s three-time honorees with a 3.68 GPA while studying criminal justice. He ranks second in the GNAC with a .407 batting average and is third with a .468 on base percentage.  Jacob Maiben has crossed home plate more than any other Western Oregon player this season, scoring 35 runs. He has brought himself around to score twice with a pair of home runs.

Northwest Nazarene junior Kyle Ethridge also earned selection to the All-Aacademic team for a third time with a 3.87 GPA as a criminal justice major. Ethridge has made 10 appearances on the mound for the Nighthawks this season and ranks 10th on the team with 22 strikeouts through 25 innings of work. He also ranks sixth for NNU with 28 fly ball outs.

Saint Martin’s junior Griffin Williams rounds out the three-time All-Academic honorees as a business administration major with a 3.97 GPA. Williams has appeared in 26 of the Saints’ 42 games this season and is batting .162 with a .296 on base percentage. He is tied for eighth on the team with 10 RBIs and is tied for ninth with nine runs scored. Williams is also tied for eighth on the team with four doubles.

To qualify for the GNAC All-Academic Teams, nominees must be of sophomore eligibility or greater, have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.20 or greater on a 4.00 scale, be on the team roster for the full season and must be in their second year at the nominating institution.