2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Team

TOWSON, Md. - Southwest Minnesota State University senior baseball player Greg Laughlin has been named to the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America third team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

A business administration major with a 3.95 grade point average, Laughlin is the only student-athlete from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference named to either the first, second or third team All-America squads.

Laughlin becomes just the second SMSU baseball player to earn Academic All-America honors and the first since 2004.  Brendan Rokke was a two-time Academic All-America for SMSU, earning second team honors in 2003 and first team honors in 2004.  Laughlin also becomes just the seventh SMSU student-athlete to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America accolades in school history. 

Laughlin, a native of Eden Prairie, Minn., batted .351 this past season for the Mustangs with 11 doubles, three triples, 41 runs scored and 35 RBI.  A standout defensive player, he led the team with 113 assists, ranked third with 76 putouts, committed just three errors and finished the season with a .984 fielding percentage. 

A four-year starter at second base, Laughlin played in 170 career games with 168 starts and ended his career as the school's all-time leader in base hits with 213.  Also the program's all-time leader in at bats (605), he finished his career ranking fifth in assists (377), tied for sixth in games played (170), tied for sixth in triples (six), seventh in runs scored (129), eighth in defensive chances (675), 11th in total bases (275), tied for 13th in doubles (32) and 15th in RBI (104).

Southwest Minnesota State finished the 2009 season with an overall record of 28-15 and made its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Central Region Tournament.  The Mustangs finished fourth at the six-team regional tournament in Grand Junction, Colo., with a record of 1-2.

SMSU, located in Marshall, Minn., is a member of NCAA Division II and competes in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

The following is a list of past SMSU CoSIDA Academic All-Americas:

Baseball
2003    Brendan Rokke, SS, 2nd Team
2004    Brendan Rokke, SS, 1st Team
2009    Greg Laughlin, 2B, 3rd Team

Football
1988    Bruce Saugstad, 1st Team
1999    Jason Jacobs, 2nd Team

Men's Basketball
1980    Jeff Johannesen, C, 2nd Team

Tennis
1992    Leslie Jacobsen, 3rd Team

Women's Basketball
2005    Michelle Bruns, G, 2nd Team