MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — Penn State Harrisburg baseball player Bret Williams, of Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, has been named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-American Second Team. He is the first student-athlete in the college’s history to earn CoSIDA Academic All-American recognition.
CoSIDA annually recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances both athletically and in the classroom. To be eligible for CoSIDA Academic All-American consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at their current institution and be nominated by their sports information director.
Williams has been consistent in the classroom, having earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors earlier this spring, while also being named to the CAC All-Academic Team on two occasions. The security and risk analysis major currently holds a 3.31 cumulative GPA.
On the field, Williams has earned D3baseball.com Preseason First-Team All-America honors and was named to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's Division III Players to Watch List. He also was named the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Player of the Week in early March.
Following a 2019 campaign that saw him clinch NCAA Division III Statistical Championships in the categories of hits (88), runs (75) and total bases (161), he was named a First-Team All-American by both American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings and D3baseball.com. Williams was named the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional Player of the Year and First-Team All-Region by the ABCA and Rawlings, as well as earning a D3baseball.com First-Team All-Region honor. He was named the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) Player of the Year, winning the league's batting title and ranking second in the nation in home runs (18) and RBI (70). He added 36 extra-base hits, including 17 doubles, 32 walks and seven stolen bases. Williams was named CAC First-Team All-Conference for the second year in a row after picking up D3baseball.com National Team of the Week and CAC Player of the Week honors earlier in the year.