Hunt named SAC Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Published 2:24 pm Monday, May 20, 2019
ROCK HILL, S.C. — Lincoln Memorial senior outfielder Seth Hunt has been voted as the South Atlantic Conference Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, it was announced by the league on Monday.
Hunt, a native of Knoxville, Tenn., becomes the first student-athlete in the history of the LMU baseball program to receive the SAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, which is voted on by the league’s Faculty Athletic Representative (FAR) Committee. Winners are selected based on their combined accomplishments in the classroom, in the community and on the field of play.
“Seth is a model student-athlete and is very deserving of this honor,” LMU head baseball coach Jeff Sziksai said. “What he’s been able to achieve as a student-athlete at LMU has been incredible. Not only is he LMU’s all-time hits leader, but he’s also a 3.9 pre-med student and will be returning to LMU’s Debusk College of Osteopathic Medicine next year to start his journey to becoming a doctor. It’s been an absolute pleasure coaching him the last four years.”
Hunt compiled an impressive academic resume in his four years at Lincoln Memorial, finishing with a 3.84 cumulative grade-point average as a biology / pre-med major and chemistry minor. He was named to the Dean’s List six times and the SAC Commissioner’s Honor Roll all four years. As a sophomore, he received the Herbert M. McCampbell Scholarship, which is presented to the student-athlete in the biology department that exhibits academic excellence, and was also awarded the Inez and James B. Stiner Scholarship as a junior for sustained success in the classroom
Hunt was accepted into the Debusk College of Osteopathic Medicine following his undergraduate graduation and will begin med school this fall. Earlier this month, Hunt was named to the 2019 Google Cloud Academic All-District Team.
On the baseball field, Hunt is one of the most accomplished players in program history. Over the course of a program-record-tying 199 games played, Hunt racked up a record 200 runs scored and 245 hits. He also ranks among the top five in program history in triples with 11, games started with 187, total bases with 344, walks with 98 and doubles with 44. In addition to that, he’s recorded a program-record 740 at-bats and driven in 137 runs. For his career, he is a .331 career hitter.
This past season, Hunt was named to the All-SAC second team after posting a .322 batting average with 68 hits, 13 doubles, eight homers and 45 RBI. Last season, Hunt helped lead the Railsplitters to their second consecutive SAC tournament title. That season, he batted .356 with a career-high 78 hits. In 2017, Hunt hit a career-best .381.
In addition to his accomplishments in the classroom and on the baseball field, Hunt has been deeply involved in community service efforts.
For all four years, he played a role in the Railsplitters’ Vs. Cancer initiative, using social media and an annual head-shaving event to raise money and awareness for childhood cancer victims. He took part in Habitat for Humanity events as a freshman, sophomore and junior, participated in the ROHO Christmas Shopping Spree to provide Christmas gifts for underprivileged local children for all four years of his career, and took part in the Angel Tree for three years as well.
Hunt was selected as a captain by his teammates as a senior, served in the freshman mentorship program this past year and helped start the Faith Promise Church on campus at Lincoln Memorial University.