PELLA — Three members of the Central College baseball team were awarded College Sports Communicators Division III Academic All-District honors Tuesday.

Senior Brayden Sawyer (third baseman, Grundy Center) was back on the list for a third time and advances to be under consideration for Academic All-America honors. Junior Stephen Stufflebeam (left fielder, Macomb, Ill.) and sophomore Jackson Torbit (pitcher, St. Louis, Mo., Webster Groves HS) were first-time selections for Academic All-District.

To be eligible for consideration, a student-athlete must be a starter or key reserve at the varsity level and achieve a 3.50 or better cumulative grade point average. Positions players must compete in at least 90% of games played or start in 66% of games played. Pitchers must pitch at least 25 innings or appear in 17 games.

Sawyer is a business management major with a 3.74 GPA. He started all 40 games, 34 times at third base and six times as the pitcher. Hitting primarily from the leadoff position, he hit .321 with 32 RBI. He was also 4-1 on the mound with a 2.77 ERA in 39.0 innings pitched.

Torbit is a history major with a 3.55 GPA. He was 3-3 in 11 pitching starts. He logged 60.1 innings with a 4.77 ERA and striking out a team-high 54 batters.
Stufflebeam is a kinesiology major with a 3.82 GPA. He made 36 starts in left field with a .282 batting average. He drove in 22 runs and recorded 37 hits.

The trio brings Central's total number of honorees up to 16 and gives the Dutch representation for the fourth consecutive year.