Penn State Harrisburg College Sports Communicators Academic All-Americans
College Sports Communicators (CSC), formerly College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), began the distinguished Academic All-America® program in 1952, and since then, has honored more than 38,000 deserving student-athletes from numerous sports across all divisions with these elite Academic All-America® scholar-athlete honors. Currently, CSC sponsors Academic All-America® programs for men's soccer, women's soccer, football, volleyball, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's swimming & diving, women's swimming & diving, men's tennis, women's tennis, baseball, softball, and men's and women's track and field/cross country. Many other sports are eligible through the At-Large program.
DREW HARSHBARGER
2022 | Baseball
CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team
Penn State Harrisburg baseball player Drew Harshbarger was named an Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) in June 2022. Harshbarger was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team, joining former baseball standout and teammate Bret Williams as the only student-athletes in school history to earn academic all-America honors.
The senior pitcher garnered All-Region Second-Team accolades from the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and Rawlings thanks to his efforts on the mound during the 2022 campaign. The McVeytown, Pa. native ranked 32nd in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings (12.44), as well as 41st among Division III pitchers in total strikeouts (88). The right hander was named to the United East All-Conference First Team after posting a 2.83 ERA in 63.2 innings thrown to go along with five wins. Harshbarger also picked up United East Pitcher of the Week recognition in late March (3/21).
In addition to helping lead Penn State Harrisburg to its third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and second straight conference championship, Harshbarger also excelled in the classroom, securing CoSIDA Academic All-District honors after earning an impressive 3.90 cumulative GPA as an Electrical Engineering major.
BRET WILLIAMS
2021 | Baseball
CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team
In 2021, Penn State Harrisburg baseball player Bret Williams was named an Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) for the second year in a row. For Williams, it was the second consecutive academic all-America accolade after achieving the same feat in 2020. He was named to the 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team after earning second-team recognition the year prior.
One of the most successful players in NCAA Division III history, Williams wrapped up his illustrious career by ranking second all-time in total bases (548), tied for fourth all-time in home runs (63), fifth all-time in runs batted in (250), tied for fifth all-time in hits (290), and sixth all-time in runs scored (232).
Williams put together a stellar 2021 campaign that saw him slash .450/.586/.915 with a 1.501 OPS, 17 home runs, 66 RBI, 43 walks, and 16 stolen bases for Penn State Harrisburg. The Mount Carmel, Pa. native was named a First-Team All-American by both ABCA/Rawlings and D3baseball.com for the second straight season after being named the Mid-Atlantic Regional Player of the Year by both organizations. He was tabbed the North Eastern Athletic Conference (NEAC) Player of the Year to go along with first-team all-conference honors before earning NEAC Championship Tournament MVP recognition. Williams also earned a spot on the D3baseball.com National Team of the Week on three occassions (5/11, 4/13, 3/23).
A Security and Risk Analysis major, Williams has also been consistent in the classroom throughout his career, having earned a pair of academic all-America honors and two academic all-district awards from CoSIDA to go along with multiple Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) All-Academic Team accolades.
BRET WILLIAMS
2020 | Baseball
CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team
Penn State Harrisburg baseball player Bret Williams was named a College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-American in June of 2020. Williams was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team, becoming the first student-athlete in school history to earn the prestigious honor.
Prior to the 2020 campaign, Williams earned D3baseball.com Preseason First-Team All-America honors and was named to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's Division III Players to Watch List. Prior to the season being cut short due to COVID-19, the outfielder was slashing a blistering .472/.525/.887 with an OPS of 1.412. Through just 12 games, he racked up 25 hits, including five home runs and seven doubles, to go along with 17 runs batted in and 14 runs scored. He 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 ABCA/Rawlings and D3baseball.com. The Mount Carmel, Pa. native was named the NCAA Division III Mid-Atlantic Regional Player of the Year and First-Team All-Region by the ABCA and Rawlings to go along with a D3baseball.com First-Team All-Region honor. The outfielder was named the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) Player of the Year thanks to slashing .431/.514/.789 with an OPS of 1.303, 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.
Williams was also consistent in the classroom, having earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors earlier in the spring of 2020, while also being named to the CAC All-Academic Team on two occasions. The Security and Risk Analysis major held a 3.31 cumulative GPA when he was named and academic all-American.