Carew, O’Brien Named Google Cloud Academic All-District First Team
5/10/2019 9:59:00 AM | Baseball
KENT, Ohio – Kent State redshirt sophomore Ben Carew and senior Kian O'Brien have been named Google Cloud Academic All-District First Team selections, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Both Carew and O'Brien have also earned Mid-American Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Week honors for their performance on the field and in the classroom this season.
Carew is having a standout season for the Blue and Gold, leading the Kent State offense at the top of the lineup. The Appleton, Wis. native leads the Mid-American Conference and ranks 19th in the nation with a .401 batting average and also ranks 15th in Division I in hits per game (1.58) and 25th in hits (71). He also leads the conference in hits and ranks third in on-base percentage (.476), runs scored (50) and stolen bases (20), and ninth in slugging percentage (.542).
In conference play, Carew leads the MAC in runs scored (28) and ranks second in stolen bases (8), third in batting average (.405), fourth in both on-base percentage (.495) and hits (32), seventh in doubles (7) and eighth in slugging percentage (.633).
Carew will enter Kent State's weekend series against Bowling Green on an 11-game hitting streak, having reached base in each of the last 26 games.
O'Brien has put together a strong senior campaign, working his way into the heart of the Kent State lineup. On the season, he is tied for fifth in the MAC with seven home runs and is ranked fifth in slugging percentage (.568). In MAC games, he currently leads the conference with 29 RBIs, ranks second in slugging percentage (.771), seventh in batting average (.386), and is tied for second in home runs (5) and is tied for third in doubles (8).
O'Brien was named both MAC Player of the Week (by the conference and College Sports Madness) and MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week April 8 after posting a .471 average and .882 slugging percentage through five games. He crushed two home runs and a double for seven RBIs and six runs scored for the week.
