Four Bulldog Baseball Players Earn College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® Honors

FULL COLLEGE SPORTS COMMUNICATORS RELEASE

GREENWOOD, Ind. - Four UNC Asheville Baseball players earned Academic All-District® honors from College Sports Communicators, announced by the organization today (Tuesday, June 2). This marks the fourth straight season that multiple Bulldogs have earned the honor for the program.

Senior infielder Patrick Gillen, Senior right-handed pitcher Cooper Smith, junior catcher Owen Michelson and senior right-handed pitcher Lucas Boesen each earned the honor for the Bulldogs.

To qualify, a student-athlete must:

Be at least a sophomore both athletically and academically
Maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.50
Must either appear in 90 percent of athletic contests or start in 66 percent of athletic contests for the year. Pitchers must appear in a minimum of 17 games OR pitch a minimum of 25 innings on the year.

Gillen was honored with the program's prestigious No. 6 jersey for his senior season. He appeared in 52 games making 52 starts, playing most games at first base this season. Gillen slashed .280/.367/.343 with 58 total hits including 10 doubles and one home run on the year. He also scored 37 runs and drove in 28 runs, while drawing 26 walks and stealing 13 bases. Academically, Gillen graduated from Asheville this past spring with a bachelor's degree in business and a 3.72 grade point average.

This is Gillen's first career Academic All-District honor. He is a native of Jensen Beach, Fla.

Smith made 15 appearances including 13 starts in his first season as a Bulldog, finishing third in the nation with three complete games along with one shutout and one save. He totaled 70.2 innings striking out 48. Smith fired Asheville's first complete game shutout since 2012 in a 9-0 win over Winthrop on May 3, later earning Big South Conference Starting Pitcher of the Week honors on May 4. He struck out a career-high nine in that same start against Winthrop, while also firing complete games against Alcorn State (Feb. 28) and at Longwood (Apr. 12). Academically, he graduated this past spring with a bachelor's degree in business and a 3.73 grade point average.

This is Smith's first career Academic All-District honor. He is a native of Tallahassee, Fla.

Michelson appeared in 43 games making 42 starts between catcher and right field on the season, slashing .307/.495/.453 while finishing in the top five in the Big South in on-base percentage. He totaled 42 hits with eight doubles and four home runs. He also scored 39 runs and drove in 27 runs on the season, along with drawing 37 walks and stealing seven bases on the season. Academically, he holds a 3.67 grade point average in chemistry.

This is Michelson's second career Academic All-District honor. He is a native of Candler, N.C.

Boesen made 16 appearances including 13 starts in his first season in Asheville, logging three wins including what was at the time Asheville's first complete game since 2021 in the win over Mississippi Valley State on Feb. 27. He totaled 71 innings pitched with 69 strikeouts. His best start of the season came on May 15 against High Point, when he fired eight shutout innings scattering just three hits with a career-high 11 strikeouts to later earn Big South Conference Starting Pitcher of the Week honor following that start on May 18. Boesen was also named to the Big South Conference All-Academic Team. Academically, Boesen graduated this past spring with a bachelor's degree in business and a 3.83 grade point average.

This is Boesen's first career Academic All-District honor. He is a native of Las Vegas, Nev.

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