IRVING, Texas – Honored for their success on the field and in the classroom, WKU sophomores Kaleb Duckworth and Steven Kraft were both selected to the 2016 Conference USA Baseball All-Academic team, the league announced on Monday.
The duo were two of 12 players named to the all-academic squad as the Hilltoppers were one of three schools to have multiple student-athletes honored, joining Louisiana Tech and Southern Miss. WKU also had a pair on the team in its debut season in the league last season, with the Tops being the only team to have multiple representatives in the past two years.
This is not the first academic award for Duckworth this season as he was one of two C-USA players to receive 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-District honors earlier this month. Duckworth, who owns a 3.94 grade-point average as an accounting major, has also earned a C-USA Commissioner's Academic Medal and been named to the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll in his two seasons on The Hill.
On the field, Duckworth was one of C-USA's most consistent hitters this season, collecting multiple hits in 17 games and reaching base in every contest but six. Primarily playing as the team's designated hitter, he finished the year with a .329 batting average and a team-high 36 runs batted in, while also ranking highly in multiple C-USA offensive categories: second in HBP (12), T-11th in hits (68) and T-12th in RBI.
Kraft enjoyed a breakout season on the field in 2016, while also continuing his dedication in the classroom. The Gainesville, Virginia, native has a 3.64 GPA in interdisciplinary studies and has landed on the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll in both years he has been at WKU. Kraft also received a C-USA Commissioner's Academic Medal in 2015.
In 2016, Kraft blossomed into one of the Hilltoppers' best hitters, registering a .319 batting average, .476 slug and .409 on-base percentage. He led the team in runs (44), home runs (6) and triples (3) and ranked highly in multiple conference statistics: tied for fifth in runs, tied for seventh in triples and 13th in total bases (100).
