HOUSTON Three Owls have been named to the Verizon Academic All-District VI baseball team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.
Pitcher Steven Herce, third-baseman Hunter Brown and centerfielder A.J. Porfirio were among the 11 players named to the squad. The three will now go on the national ballot for academic all-America honors.
Herce, a junior from Houston (St. Thomas High), is 9-1 with a 3.04 earned run average. He carried a 3.36 cumulative grade point average in political science.
Brown, a senior from Houston (Lamar High/Galveston College) is hitting .310 with seven home runs and 27 runs batted in. A 2001 all-Western Athletic Conference selection, Brown was the WAC's preseason player of the year this season. He is majoring in political Science/managerial studies with a 3.37 GPA.
Porfirio, a senior from Houston (Clear Lake High/Tyler Junior College), is also a returning all-WAC player for the Owls. He's currently hitting .343 with two home runs and 22 RBI. Porfirio is a kineseology major with a 3.52 GPA.
Currently ranked second nationally, the Owls are 39-9 on the season and 20-1 in WAC play. Rice next plays San Jose State in an important WAC series this weekend at Reckling Park, beginning with a 7 pm game Friday.