SCHENECTADY, N.Y. – Recent graduates
Jack Koch '21 and
Matt Toy '21 of the Union College baseball team added another academic honor to their collection of on-field accomplishments this season, as the pair were recognized with spots on the 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-District Baseball Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and announced on Thursday.
Toy is the only catcher and Koch is one of only four infielders recognized in District 3, which encompasses all of New York State. To be nominated for Academic All-District honors, student-athletes must have a cumulative GPA above 3.30, play at least 50 percent of his team's games as a starter or important reserve, and reach sophomore athletic and academic standing at the school.
With four categories remaining this year, Union already boasts 11 Academic All-District honorees in 2020-21, shattering the previous school standard of eight.
Koch is the 17th Union student-athlete since 2001 to earn multiple Academic All-District honors after earning the honor last season as well. A two-time ABCA All-Region and All-Liberty League first-team selection, he ranked third on the team with a .400 batting average (26 for 65) and 10 extra-base hits, including a team-best seven doubles, and also drew a team-leading 21 walks to post a .557 on-base percentage in 2021. The senior finished the season third in school history in single-season walks despite playing only 20 games this year, while his on-base percentage is second-best in a season all-time at Union.
Off the field, the managerial economics and Spanish double major boasts a 3.87 cumulative GPA and is a member of the Student Investment Club and the Spanish Club on campus.
The first catcher in program history to earn Academic All-District honors, Toy had a career year for the Dutchmen as a senior in 2021, earning All-Liberty League second-team honors after ranking second on the squad with a .415 batting average (27 for 65) with three homers, 21 RBIs and 16 runs scored. He finished the year fifth in the Liberty League in batting average and hit .438 (21 for 48) in 14 conference contests. The senior also did not make an error behind the plate and threw out 11-of-32 would-be base stealers.
Off the field, Toy recorded a 3.80 cumulative GPA as a managerial economics major. The winner of Union's prestigious Stephen Ritterbush '68 Award, Toy served as president of the Student Forum this year and is a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Society and Omicron Delta Epsilon Economics Honor Society. He received both the Alan Lake Chidsey (1925) Citizenship Award, given to a senior for distinctive contributions to the advancement of responsible government in student affairs, and the Elias Peissner Prize, given to an economics major who has done work of outstanding merit, at Prize Day this year as well.
Both Koch and Toy now advance to the national Academic All-America ballot, where first-, second- and third-team Academic All-Americans will be announced in late-July. The team captains will look to add their names to the list of Union's 30 Academic All-America honorees, including three selections from the baseball team.
