COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Golden Eagle center fielder Chad Oberacker has been named to his third pre-season All America team by College Baseball Lineup, which named him first team All America last week. Oberacker also made his way onto Louisville Slugger's second team pre-season list and was named third team by the National Collegiate Baseball Writer's Association (NCBWA).
Of the 11 men named to the Lineup's first team, Oberacker maintained the highest batting average after last season with his .452, as statistic that ranked third in the nation at the end of the 2010 season and led the Ohio Valley Conference. He also leads the first team with his 2010 stats in hits (108) and doubles (29).
"It's a huge honor to be recognized before the season even starts, and it's a really big reflection on my teammates," Oberacker said. "We worked hard all last season as a team to keep getting better and finish where we did, and the team deserves credit for that.
"It's great to have this momentum headed into the season, it's only going to make us step up more and work harder," he finished.
A member of four post-season All America teams following his 2010 season Oberacker, out of Erie, PA., batted in the clean-up position, consistently hiting over .400 for the entire season. He finished fourth in the nation in total hits with 108 – a statistic that ranked first in the OVC - 40 of which were for extra bases. His career batting average of .395 takes top honors in Tech history.
Throughout the season he maintained an on-base percentage of .527 and slugged .690, batting in 70 runs and becoming just the fourth athlete in Tech history to bring in over 60 runs in one season, earning him the three spot in Tech record books. He set single season records in 2010 for hits and doubles with 29, which ranks first in the OVC, and he ranks second in Tech's single season history in total bases with 165. Oberacker is also tied for the top spot in Tech record books with nine career triples.
Being the only Golden Eagle to play and start all 56 games in a field position last year, Oberacker recorded a conference-high 281 total plate appearances, rounding the bases 67 times and logging five triples, six homers and 34 walks for 2010. He also recorded an outstanding 36 multi-hit games and fielded .992 on the season.
Oberacker went 6-for-13 with two home runs and seven RBIs to fuel the Golden Eagle sweep of Murray State in the final regular season series of the year to claim the OVC title and no. 1 seed outright for the first time since 1997.
"Chad is a tremendous athlete, we've always known he was a special baseball player," said Tech Head Coach Matt Bragga. "He was a huge part of our championship team last year and had another great year this year. We're excited for him, this is a big honor, there are not many men in the country who can be first team All-America."
Additionally, Oberacker received Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week accolades for week 13 of the season, was named first team All-OVC and second team Academic All-District. He becomes the first baseball player in history to be named to an All-America team as well as to an Academic All-District team. He was named to the 2010 OVC all-tournament team and was also named Tennessee Tech University's Co-Male Athlete of the Year along with former teammate AJ Kirby-Jones.
