Four Salukis named to MVC Scholar-Athlete Teams
06/07/2022 | 11:07:00 | Baseball
The Southern Illinois University baseball team placed four student-athletes on the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team, the conference announced Tuesday. J.T. Weber, Noah Farmer, Evan Martin and Grey Epps each earned spots on the Scholar-Athlete First Team, giving SIU the most first-team selections of any Valley school.
Weber earned his second-straight MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team honor after he finished second in the Valley in hits (87), runs scored (64) and slugging percentage (.649). He also finished top-10 in the league in four additional statistical categories which included tied for second in home runs (19), tied for third in RBI (56) and fifth in batting average (.355). The Metropolis, Ill. native set the program record for single-season home runs (19) and tallied 25 multi-hit games.
Farmer was named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team for the second-straight season after a stellar senior campaign. The Metropolis, Ill. native went 7-2 and led the MVC in starts (17). He also finished fourth in the Valley in innings pitched (86.0) and seventh in ERA (3.87).
On the heels of the first All-MVC recognition of his career, Grey Epps added to his postseason hardware with his first MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team selection. The fifth-year senior slashed .273/.535/.395 with eight doubles, a triple, 14 home runs and 54 RBI. He finished tied for sixth in the league in runs scored (54), ninth in RBI (51) and tied for seventh in home runs (14). Defensively, Epps was terrific at second base, as he finished second in the league in assists (157) and tied for fifth in double plays turned (30).
Evan Martin also earned the first MVC Scholar-Athlete team recognition of his career. A strategic analytics grad student with a perfect 4.0 GPA, Martin tied for second in the league in triples (4) and posted a perfect 1.000% fielding percentage. The Manchester, Mo. native hit .252 with 12 extra base hits, 30 RBI and 22 walks.
