Schmidt Garners Two More All-America Honors

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas junior left-hander Nick Schmidt garnered two more All-America honors on Monday afternoon with second-team accolades from Baseball America and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA).

It is Schmidt’s third and fourth All-America honors this season after being named a second-team honoree by Louisville Slugger and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

Schmidt, a southpaw and native of St. Louis, finished the 2007 season with an 11-3 record and career-low 2.69 ERA that ranked second in the SEC. His 111 strikeouts rank tied for fifth in school history and his 124 innings pitched tied the UA single-season mark. Schmidt threw five complete games in 2007 and averaged almost seven innings per start with a .196 opponent batting average that led the SEC.

Schmidt is just the fifth player in school history to be named a two-time All-American after garnering first- and second-team recognition as a sophomore in 2006. He was also a Freshman All-American in 2005. He joins Jeff King (1984-86) and Phillip Stidham (1989-91) as the only players at Arkansas to be named Freshman All-Americans and then follow that up with back-to-back All-America honors.

He is the Razorbacks’ career leader in strikeouts with 345 and boasted a 28-8 career record. His 340.1 innings ranks third in school history while his 52 starts are second. Schmidt finished his UA career with a 2.83 ERA and an impressive .213 opponent batting average.

Schmidt was the 23rd overall selection of the first round by the San Diego Padres in the Major League Baseball Draft last week. He was the first Razorback taken in the first round since 1999 and the highest selection since King went first overall to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986.