Rio Grande News
Rio's Tyler Schunk was named 1st Team NAIA All-American
Rio's Tyler Schunk was named 1st Team NAIA All-American
Thu, Jun 3, 2010 - [Baseball]
Rio's Schunk earns 1st Team All-American honors
Kansas City, Mo. --- University of Rio Grande RedStorm third baseman/pitcher Tyler Schunk has been named 1st team NAIA All-American as selected by the NAIA-Baseball Coaches Association (BCA) All-America Selection Committee.
 
Schunk, a senior from Cincinnati, Ohio, was named All-American as an infielder. He is the first Rio baseball player in school history to earn 1st team All-American honors. The highest previous All-American accolade was David Robinson, garnering 2nd team honors in 1995. 
 

Schunk ended the season with a .395 batting average (79-for-200) in 61 games. He led the team with 14 home runs and established a single-season school record of 79 RBI's. He scored 54 runs and laced 24 doubles, which was also a single-season school record. He was impressive on the mound as well, tying freshman Ryan Robertson (Waverly, OH) with 12 wins (a new school record). Schunk went 12-3 for the season with a 2.39 earned run average. In 94 1/3 innings, Schunk struck out 90 (new school record) and walked only 26. Those numbers allowed him to be named the Mid-South Conference Player of the Year. He also was awarded a Gold Glove from the MSC. 

 

"Tyler is very deserving of this honor," said Rio Grande head baseball coach Brad Warnimont. "He made some big-time plays for us this year, set numerous school records, we're very happy for him."

   
"I think this reflects well on our conference and on us as an institution," Warnimont added. "He is the first 1st team All-American we've had since I've been here and I believe he is the first one in school history." 
 

Schunk is the first Rio player to earn All-American honors since the trio of Matt Martin, Kyle Wells and Nate Chau were named NAIA Honorable Mention All-American in 2006.  

 

Rio Grande completed the season with an all-time best 48-13 record, finishing second in the MSC regular season with a 20-7 mark. The RedStorm won the MSC Tournament and appeared in the NAIA National Tournament for the first time in program history.