AUSTIN, Texas - After landing on the Capital One Academic All-District First Team in early May, Anderson University baseball standout catcher LJ Newman has been named to the Capital One Academic All-American Third Team on Wednesday, becoming the first Trojan in program history to earn Academic All-American status.

After seeing just 27 games in 2014, Newman was one of two Trojans to start in every game this season, marking starts at catcher and designated hitter. The native of Piedmont, S.C. was the only AU player to have 70 or more hits on the year, reaching the 74-hit mark, which placed him seventh in the South Atlantic Conference. Newman hit .381 at the plate, including a team-high 18 doubles.

Newman was a main contributor to Anderson's SAC Tournament berth and the program's first-ever SAC Tournament victory in the opening round over Brevard. The catcher finished the tournament run with six hits, headlined by a three-hit performance against league champion and College World Series qualifier, Catawba.

At the conclusion of the regular season, Newman landed on the SAC Honorable Mention list for the league's catchers. In addition to the postseason nod, the redshirt junior became the second Trojan in as many years to land on the Academic All-District Team, joining former standout, Nathaniel Galliford.

After six players from the SAC made the Academic All-District Teams earlier this month, Newman was the only SAC representative on the Academic All-American Teams. The Trojan joins Columbus State's Blake Edwards, who landed on the second team, and third team honorees, Zade Denton of UNC Pembroke and Montevallo's Vinny Rodriguez as representatives from the Southeast Region.

In the classroom, Newman boasts a 3.80 GPA while majoring in Nursing.

2015 Academic All-America ® Baseball Team

FIRST TEAM
P - Matthew Kaplanis, INDIANAPOLIS
P - Jon Klein, MERCYHURST
C - Michael Jurgella, ST. CLOUD STATE
IF - Christian Binger, SOUTHWEST BAPTIST
IF - Matthew Chavez, NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS
IF - Stephen James, ASHLAND
IF - Matt Peters, CALIFORNIA (PA)
OF - Justin Harris, EMPORIA STATE
OF - Matt Paculan, URBANA
OF - Lee Sponseller, OHIO DOMINICAN
DH - Davis Richardson, HARDING

SECOND TEAM
P - Luke Mould, ALABAMA HUNTSVILLE
P - Ryan Reno, COLORADO MESA
C- Kyle Tisdale, OHIO DOMINICAN
IF - Blake Edwards, COLUMBUS STATE
IF - Nick Spini, EAST CENTRAL
IF - Jay Young, EAST STROUDSBURG
IF - Kevin Zak, GRAND VALLEY STATE
OF - Jesse Jennings, MINNESOTA, CROOKSTON
OF - Brandon Martinez, KUTZTOWN
OF - Paul Trenhaile, TRUMAN STATE
DH - Travis Smith, NORTHWOOD (MI)

THIRD TEAM
P - Luke Barker, CALIFORNIA STATE CHICO
P - Blake Bass, ANGELO STATE
P - Ben Nolan, MERCYHURST
C - LJ Newman, ANDERSON (SC)
IF - Zade Denton, UNC PEMBROKE
IF - Jarrod Flax, NEWMAN
IF - Jeff Martin, NW OKLAHOMA STATE
IF - Luke Tewes, DRURY
OF - Jacob Carney, SHEPHERD
OF - Nate Olinger, COLORADO SCH. OF MINES
OF - Andrew Ratterman, NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS
DH - Vinny Rodriguez, MONTEVALLO