College Baseball News – Guilford’s John Macon Smith Named Academic All-District

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Guilford College senior John Macon Smith (Greensboro, N.C./Western Guilford (Western Carolina)) earned Capital One Academic All-District® 5 baseball honors Thursday from the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). CoSIDA members nominated and selected the Academic All-District® teams.

The all-district squads are comprised of baseball student-athletes from NCAA III institutions in the 10-state area from Virginia to Mississippi. Nominees were starters or important reserves of sophomore academic standing or above who maintained at least a 3.3 grade point average. First-team Academic All-District® honorees advance to the Capital One Academic All-America® Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.

The announcement marks the second such honor for Smith, who recently concluded a brilliant career for the Quakers. Smith earned First Team All-Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) baseball recognition last month and was also named the league’s Farm Bureau Insurance Baseball Scholar-Athlete Award for the second straight season according to a vote of the league’s sports information directors.

Smith, a 6-2, 205-pound infielder, led the Quakers with a .459 batting average, an.531 on-base percentage, 44 runs, 68 hits, and 13 stolen bases in 38 games. Smith also smacked eight doubles, four triples and six homers. He finished second on the team with 40 runs batted in (RBI) and a .689 slugging percentage. Smith ranks sixth among NCAA Division III hits leaders, ninth in total bases, 17th in runs, and 10th in batting average through games of April 27. In addition to leading the league in batting average and on-base percentage, he stands third in hits, slugging percentage, triples, and total bases (102). He totaled a team-high 23 multiple-hit contests, 10 multiple-RBI games and accumulated a 14-game hitting streak in 2014. Smith reached base in all 38 games.

In three Guilford seasons, Smith recorded a .417 batting average with 23 home runs and 124 RBI. He set the school’s career record for hits per game (1.63). Smith ranks second in school history in batting average, sixth in runs (125), and sixth in RBI. He is a three-time All-ODAC honoree and two-time all-region selection. In the classroom, Smith carries a 3.83 grade point average. The dean’s list accounting major is a five-time member of Guilford’s Student-Athlete Honor Roll and also earned All-District® 5 honors in 2013. He was recognized outstanding achievement by an accounting student at Guilford 2014 Awards Convocation.

Smith helped coach Nick Black’s ’02 club to a 19-20 overall record, 9-11 in the ODAC. Black could have as many as 27 returning letter winners next season.