Three Roadrunners named to SLC All-Academic first team on Tuesday

FRISCO ? Senior pitcher Bradley Chovanec, junior center fielder Michael Rockett and sophomore third baseman Ryan Rummel were named to the Southland Conference All-Academic first team, the league office announced on Tuesday.

All three played pivotal roles in helping lead UTSA to aschool-record-tying 39 wins this past season and its second consecutiveSouthland Conference Regular Season Championship.

Chovanec, who maintains a 3.91 grade-point average (gpa) in kinesiology, was the league's only hurler to earn SLC Pitcher of the Weekhonors two times this past season The Burton native had a solid final campaign in navyblue and orange, tying for second in the conference with nine wins (t-No. 2 UTSA history) and pacing the circuit with a pair ofshutouts. The third-team All-SLC choice, who sported a 4.96 ERA, also was fourth inthe league with 98 innings pitched and three completegames. A 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VIfirst-team selection, he owned a sterling 63-to-20 strikeout-to-walk ratio (better than3-to-1) and tied for second on the team with five quality starts.Six of his wins came in SLC play, as did two of his complete games andone of his shutouts. Chovanec was an honor roll student in all four of his semesters at UTSA and earned a perfect 4.0 gpa in his final two.

Rummel, who owns a 3.52 gpa in accounting, hit .291 with a dozendoubles, four homers and 30 RBIs in his first full year as a starter. The Uvalde native also walked 19 times and posted a .364 on-base percentage en route to third-team all-conference honors. He started 53 times this year and the team posted a 35-18 (.660) record in thosecontests. In conference play, Rummel recorded a .323 batting averagewith eight two-baggers, three home runs and 17 RBIs.

Rockett, a business major with a 3.22 gpa, added yet another postseason award to his ever-expanding collection. The Sugar Land native, who earned all-academic honors for the second year in a row, hit .360 with a school-record 25 doubles,five triples, 10 home runs and 68 RBIs (t-No. 2 UTSA history) thisseason. He also scored 60 runs (No. 5 UTSA history), recorded 154 totalbases for a .623 slugging percentage and stole nine bases. The 2006Freshman All-American led the Roadrunners in at-bats (247/t-No. 2 UTSAhistory), batting average, hits (89/t-No. 2 UTSA history), doubles,triples and total bases in addition to ranking second in multi-hitcontests (26), homers, RBIs, multi-RBI games (19), slugging percentageand steals. One of the top defensive center fielders in thecountry, the 6-foot-1, 175-pounder made several highlight-reel catches in addition torecording a team-high seven outfield assists, all of which resulted inrunners being gunned down at the plate. Rockett was just asproductive during the 30-game conference slate, posting a .370 battingaverage to go along with 31 runs, 14 two-baggers, three triples, fivehomers, 36 RBIs and five stolen bases. He previously earned second-team (NCBWA) and third-team All-America (Collegiate Baseball), first-team Alll-South Region (ABCA), SLC Player of the Year and ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI second-team accolades.