• 2009 MVC Scholar-Athlete Team Selections (PDF)

University of Evansville senior pitcher John Foley (Mt. Pulaski, Ill./Mt. Pulaski) has been named to the Missouri Valley Conference’s Scholar-Athlete First Team in a vote of the league’s sports information directors.

Foley recently graduated from UE with a degree in Business Administration with a management emphasis, while maintaining a grade point average above 3.71 in the classroom.  He also excelled on the diamond, leading the Purple Aces in victories (six), innings pitched (86.0), and earned run average (3.77), while ranking second on the team with 58 strikeouts this spring as a member of UE’s starting rotation.  Foley finished the 2009 season ranked seventh in the MVC in victories with a 6-3 record, while also ranking 11th among the league’s starting pitchers in ERA.

Foley is joined on the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team by MVC Player and Pitcher of the Year Brayden Drake and Buddy Baumann of Missouri State, as well as MSU’s Ben Carlson and Chris Playter, Illinois State’s Ryan Court, Southern Illinois’ Andrew Dunn, Bradley’s Grant Escue, Wichita State’s Clint McKeever, Indiana State’s Brady Shoemaker, and Creighton’s Robbie Knight and Darin Ruf.  Ten of those 12 men own cumulative grade point averages above 3.50, including Foley, while five players also took home Academic All-America status by CoSIDA.

Foley is the 31st Purple Ace to earn MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team status in UE’s 15 years of Valley baseball play.  To be eligible for MVC Scholar-Athlete Team status, players must be starters or important reserves who have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution, with at least a 3.00 cumulative grade point average.