2017-18 ABCA TEAM ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AWARD 

BOSTON – For the second straight season, the Suffolk baseball team was recognized for its efforts inside the classroom with an American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Team Academic Excellence Award for the 2017-18 academic year. 

Suffolk joins nearly 300 programs from amongst all three NCAA divisions, NAIA, junior college and the high school ranks to garner the award. In total a record number of 286 teams were recognized with the award, 75 of which were NCAA Division III programs, two of which were GNAC representatives in the Rams and Saint Joseph's (Maine). 

In order to be considered for the plaudit, a team must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 on a 4.0 scale over the 2017-18 year and the head coach must be a current ABCA member. 

Anthony Del Prete's Mutts had a season in the classroom and on the field. Academically, the 31-player roster combined for a 3.68 grade point average over 2017-18, the highest among the Rams 18 varsity teams. Athletically, the Rams had multiple milestone moments highlighted by the program's fourth consecutive GNAC crown and fourth appearance in the NCAA tournament in as many seasons. 

Brady Chant anchored Suffolk on the diamond and in the books as the senior centerfielder, who became Suffolk's first-ever ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove recipient, garnered Google Cloud CoSIDA Academic All-District honors for his combined excellence in academics and athletics. 

The ABCA has a long tradition of recognizing the achievements of baseball coaches and student-athletes. The ABCA/Rawlings All-America Team are the nation's oldest, founded in 1949, and the ABCA's awards program also includes the ABCA/Rawlings All-Region awards, the ABCA/Diamond Regional & National Coaches of the Year and several other major awards such as the ABCA Hall of Fame and the Ethics in Coaching Award.