CoSIDA RELEASE

MALIBU, Calif. -- Pepperdine's Aaron Barnett was named to the CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District first team for his accomplishments both on the field and in the classroom.

Barnett boasts a 3.71 GPA as an economics major at Pepperdine. The Waves' standout sophomore is the only catcher on the list and has the fifth highest GPA on the District 8 squad.

To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his current institution and be nominated by his sports information director. Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 20,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.

Barnett was a Freshman All-American last season as he helped to guide the Waves to an appearance in the NCAA Super Regional. This season he is second on the team with a .302 batting average, posting a team-high 51 hits. He is the fourth-toughest player to strike out in the country this year, averaging 21.3 at-bats per strikeout. Barnett has been a mainstay in the middle of the Waves' lineup this year, starting 43 of the team's 46 games so far.

Barnett is the third Wave to earn the academic all-district honor and is the first since Steve Kleen in 2005. Pete Nicholson (1972) and Rick Hirtensteiner (1989) are the only two Waves to ever earn Academic All-American honors.

Players who obtain All-District first team status move onto the national Capital One Academic All-America ballot. These national awards (first team, second team, third team for each sport category) are voted upon by Academic All-America Committee members and current CoSIDA Board of Directors and CoSIDA staff.