NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Becoming just the third Christopher Newport baseball player to garner the honor, senior outfielder Conner Clark was named an Academic All-District selection on Thursday by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The Chesapeake, Va. native is the third Captain to be honored by CoSIDA in 2020-21, joining basketball star Jason Aigner and football defensive back Jake Herzog. 

After logging a 3.85 cumulative grade-point average after four years of work in the classroom, Clark joins Nicholas Baham (2019) and Craig Johnson (2017, 2018) in CNU baseball lore as CoSIDA Academic All-District selections. He will now be nominated among the rest of the first team All-District picks for CoSIDA Academic All-America recognition. The CoSIDA Academic All-America and All-District teams are the longest-running and most prestigious academic and athletic award for student-athletes. All nominees must have a GPA of 3.30 or above and be a starter or important reserve. 

Clark covered those bases in spades, leading off for the Captains' lineup for the fourth straight season and continuing to put together one of the most impressive resumes in CNU baseball history. Off the diamond, Clark is working toward an Accounting Degree, is a four-time Conference All-Academic pick and a 2021 VaSID Academic All-State selection. 

The 2019 All-Region outfielder was one of the top bats in the lineup for head coach John Harvell in 2021, ranking third on the team with a .317 average and a team-high 45 hits. He ranked second on the team in runs scored, with 35, and led the team in stolen bases for the fourth consecutive season with 17. The prolific base-stealer leads all active players at Division III in career stolen bases and ranks sixth among all players in NCAA baseball including Division I and II. With his 17 swipes this season, Clark eclipsed the program record set by Brian Gunn in 1997, becoming the all-time leader with 92 career thefts. 

In addition to his excellence on the basepaths, the senior center fielder also moved up to second in career runs scored (168), tenth in career hits (189), and tied for second in career sacrifice bunts (24). 

This season, Clark led the team in multi-hit performances with 14 and closed the year on an 11-game hitting streak. He earned a spot on the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference All-Tournament Team and was one of only two Captains to start all 34 games during the 2021 season. He logged 11 hits in the postseason tournament with five RBI and raised his average nearly 50 points over the final hit streak that he will carry into next season. 

For more information and a complete list of the 2020-21 Academic All-District selections, click here.