Four Youngstown State baseball student-athletes have earned Valeo Horizon League All-Academic honors for their combined performance on the field and in the classroom, the league office announced on Thursday.
Senior first baseman Steven D'Eusanio, sophomore catcher Ian Francis and senior designated hitter Padraig O'Shaughnessy were each named to the 2023 Valeo Horizon League All-Academic Team while senior third baseman Braeden O'Shaughnessy was selected to the Honorable Mention Team.
The Penguins had multiple players earn all-academic honors for the fourth consecutive season. At least one Penguin has been named academic all-league in each of the last seven campaigns.
Padraig O'Shaughnessy was named to the Horizon League All-Academic Team for the third straight season to become the fifth player in program history to be a three-time honoree. The Poland, Ohio, native maintains a 3.67 graduate GPA in the Master of Business Administration program. He finished with a 3.83 undergraduate GPA as a business administration major at YSU. In addition, O'Shaughnessy was named Academic All-District by College Sports Communicators on Tuesday to become just the third Penguin since 2013 to earn the prestigious honor.
O'Shaughnessy is batting .264 and slugging .495 with 13 doubles, one triple, nine home runs and a team-high 49 RBIs through the first 51 games of the 2023 season. He ranks third in the Horizon League with 35 walks, fifth with 49 RBIs and eighth with nine home runs. O'Shaughnessy's six sacrifice flies are tied for the second most in a season in program history, and his 49 RBIs rank as the ninth most in a single season in school history.
D'Eusanio earns all-academic recognition for the second straight season after being selected to the Honorable Mention Team in 2022. The Willoughby, Ohio, native maintains a 4.00 graduate GPA in the Master of Health and Human Services program. He finished with a 3.49 undergraduate GPA as a nursing major at YSU. D'Eusanio is batting .307 and slugging .495 with a team-high 20 doubles, six home runs and 46 RBIs through the first 51 games of the 2023 season. D'Eusanio's 20 doubles are tied for the fourth most in a season in program history. He is the first Penguin to record at least 20 doubles in a season since Tom Clayton had 20 in 2007. D'Eusanio leads the Horizon League and ranks 23rd nationally with 20 doubles while also ranking fourth in the league with 62 hits, seventh with 46 RBIs and ninth with a .307 batting average.
Francis earns all-academic honors for the first time in his career. The Poland, Ohio, native has played in 39 games and made 35 starts behind plate as a true sophomore. Francis maintains a 4.00 GPA as a business administration major at Youngstown State. He is batting .275 and slugging .477 with seven doubles, five home runs and 24 RBIs through the first 51 games of the 2023 season. Francis is batting .317 and slugging .556 with six doubles, three home runs and 14 RBIs over 20 games played and 18 starts in Horizon League play.
Braeden O'Shaughnessy also earns all-academic recognition for the first time in his career. The Poland, Ohio, native maintains a 3.37 GPA as a business administration major at YSU. O'Shaughnessy is batting .302 and slugging .498 with 14 doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 41 RBIs through the first 51 games of the 2023 season. He ranks fourth in the league with 62 hits, eighth with 42 runs scored and ninth with 41 RBIs and 14 doubles. He is batting .357 and slugging .634 with 11 doubles, six home runs and 33 RBIs over 26 games in Horizon League play.
The Horizon League recognizes student-athletes with seasonal Academic All-League Teams in each of its 19 championship sports. To be eligible for Horizon League All-Academic consideration, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade-point-average of 3.20 or higher (based on a 4.00 scale), have completed at least one year at the member institution, having earned 24 semester-hour or 36 quarter-hour credits, and participate in 50 percent of the team's overall contests. An Honorable Mention selection is awarded to student-athletes who received at least 25 percent of votes, but did not make the All-Academic team.
The Penguins will conclude the regular season with a three-game Horizon League series against Wright State at Eastwood Field beginning on Thursday at 3 p.m. All three games of the series will be broadcast live on YSNLive.com.
For the latest news and updates on the YSU baseball program, follow @YSUBaseball on Twitter.
