A pair of baseball players from the University of Wisconsin-Superior were recently honored by the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
Senior pitcher Reed Coil was named the Max Sparger Scholar Athlete while freshman center fielder Ryan Leer was named an All-WIAC honorable mention selection.
Coil, a senior from Bovey, Minn., is majoring in industrial design-history and carries a 3.29 grade point average. He is a two-time member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll and been recognized on UW-Superior's Dean's list five semesters.
"Reed is an exceptional student-athlete that works hard on and off the field. This award honors his hard work," UWS coach Ed Morgan said.
Coil pitched a team-leading 60 innings this season and also led UWS with a 4.80 earned run average, 10 starting assignments and 40 strikeouts.
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He is the second individual in school history to win the conference's baseball scholar-athlete award, joining Jason Miller who won the award in 1992.
The WIAC Scholar-Athlete Award is named after Max Sparger and sponsored by Hewlett-Packard. Sparger served as commissioner of the Wisconsin State University Conference from July 1971 to July 1993.
In order to be nominated for the scholar-athlete award, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.25 grade point average, be in their last year of competition, or on schedule to graduate this academic year, and have competed for a minimum of two years.
Leer, a freshman from Minnetonka, Minn., led the team in hitting with a .325 average (39-for-120) while starting all 39 games at center field. He also ranked second on the team in RBIs (16), total bases (54) and stolen bases (5).
"Ryan was our biggest surprise," Morgan said. "He was also our most dedicated player spending extra time in the weight room as well as hitting. This award recognizes the great start he has had to his young career."
