ATHENS, W.Va. – A trio of Concord University baseball players have been named to the College Sports Communicators' (CSC) Academic All-District Team, the organization announced Tuesday afternoon.
Graduate pitchers
Eddie Blake and
Andrew Neff along with graduate infielder
Daniel Layne were tabbed to this year's team.
Blake, a native of Moneta, Virginia, makes his first appearance on the CSC Academic All-District Team after sporting a 3.62 cumulative GPA in the master's of athletic training program. Blake will earn both his undergraduate and master's degree from CU in athletic training. On the mound, Blake went 6-4 this spring. Over 70 innings of work, he struck out 59 and only issued 20 walks in 13 appearances with 10 starts. Blake finished his career tied fourth in program history in strikeouts with 223 while working 264 innings, third all-time at Concord. He was named All-Mountain East Conference Honorable Mention in 2023.
Layne makes his second straight appearance on the CSC Academic All-District Team. After a 3.55 GPA in the business administration program, Layne ramped up his GPA in the master's of business administration with a 3.87. Concord's everyday third baseman this spring had a career year as he started all 46 games. The Dobson, North Carolina native set single-season career highs in average (.348), home runs (four), RBI (37) and doubles (12). Layne's 55 total hits were 22 more than he had last season in 37 games. And he finished his career as a .329 hitter. In 2023, Layne was named All-MEC Second Team at second base.
One of the most accomplished pitchers in Mountain Lion history, Neff, a native of Fredericksburg, Virginia, finished his career as Concord's all-time wins (31) and strikeouts (288) leader. In his final season on the mound, Neff was 7-4 with an ERA of 5.53. He collected 54 strikeouts over 70 innings and recorded four complete games in his eight starts. Neff was named the MEC Pitcher of the Year in 2023 and was a two-time All-MEC First Team pick before finishing his career as an All-MEC Second Team performer this spring. Neff sported a 3.84 GPA throughout his undergraduate career in business administration and had a 3.75 in Concord's MBA program. For Neff, this is his third consecutive selection to the CSC Academic All-District Team.
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