Texas State second baseman Tyler Sibley has been named the 2011 Southland Conference Baseball Student-Athlete of the Year. Sibley, an accounting major with a 3.89 GPA, is only the second Bobcat baseball player to win the award. (Photo Courtesy Texas State University)
From STAFF REPORTS
Texas State second baseman Tyler Sibley has been named the 2011 Southland Conference Baseball Student-Athlete of the Year.
Additionally, Bobcat left fielder/pitcher Jeff McVaney was selected to the SLC All-Academic First Team, giving the Bobcats two players on the first team.
Sibley became the second baseball player in Texas State history to earn the award, which began during the 2002-03 academic year. Paul Goldschmidt is the only previous Bobcat player to win the award, doing so for both the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
Combining all sports, Sibley’s recognition is the 19th time that a Texas State student-athlete has been named student-athlete of the year, tied for the second most of any current Southland Conference university.
Sibley, an accounting major with a 3.89 GPA, was a CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team this season after also being named 2011 Texas State Male Scholar Athlete of the Year. Named to the 2010 CoSIDA Academic All-District VI Team, Sibley also earned 2010 Southland Conference All-Academic First Team accolades. The junior has received the Oak Farms Dairy Academic Award each year from 2009 through 2011, the Cream of the Crop Award winner for a 4.0 GPA in three semesters and been named to the Dean’s List each semester since his freshman year.
On the field, Sibley posted a Texas State record 30-game hitting streak earlier this year, the third longest in the nation this season.
This season, he became the Texas State leader in career runs scored (183) while ranking tied for third in doubles (39), fourth in hits (222), fourth in stolen bases (41) and eighth in batting average (.343). He had a .340 batting average, six home runs, 12 doubles, three triples, 62 runs scored, 37 RBIs and 20 stolen bases from his second base position. His 62 runs scored were the fourth most in a single season in Texas State history, and 20 stolen bases tied for fourth most all-time. Sibley was drafted in the 50th round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals.
McVaney, a management major with a 3.58 GPA, earned CoSIDA Academic All-District Second Team honors, marking the first career CoSIDA award for the left fielder. A 2010 Southland Conference All-Academic First Team selection, McVaney is a three-time Oak Farms Dairy Academic Award winner and has earned Southland Conference Commissioner’s Honor Roll recognition each spring.
On the field, McVaney finished the season tied for second on the team with 10 home runs, including a three-home run game against McNeese State that tied the Texas State single-game home run record. He also posted a .319 batting average, 53 runs scored, 47 RBIs and 12 stolen bases in 64 games. McVaney also served as a relief pitcher out of the Texas State bullpen where he had a 2.08 ERA to go along with a Texas State single-season record nine saves.
Established in the 2002-03 academic year, the conference honors one student-athlete from each of the 17 championship sports who achieves excellence in academics, athletics and community/campus service.
The student-athlete of the year, selected by the league’s awards committee, must have attained athletic achievement for at least two years at the nominating institution, possess at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and demonstrate extracurricular service at his campus and or community.
The all-academic teams are voted on by the head coaches, sports information directors and academic/compliance administrators from each Southland university. Student-athletes must possess a 3.0 cumulative GPA, have completed one full academic year at the nominating institution and participated in at least 50 percent of the team’s competition to qualify for the all-academic squad.
