Cody Kidd to be honored Oct. 25

Baldwin-Wallace College will honor senior centerfielder Cody Kidd of Wellington as an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American on Saturday, Oct. 25 at half-time of its football game against Heidelberg College at the George Finnie Stadium in Berea. Game time is at 1:30 p.m.

Kidd will be joined on the field by his parents, Roy and Julie Ann Kidd, B-W president Richard W. Durst and veteran Yellow Jackets head coach Bob Fisher.

Kidd was one of four Yellow Jackets student-athletes who earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America accolades during the 2007-2008 academic year. B-W has had 76 Academic All-Americans since the program began in 1972 -- the most of any Ohio Athletic Conference school and the second most for an Ohio private college or university. The other three are graduated football punter Kevin Soflkiancs '08, graduated soccer standout Matt Pietro '08 and graduated cross country and track student-athlete Kristen Balogh '08.

"We are pleased to honor Cody for his efforts both in the classroom and on the baseball field," said B-W sports information director Kevin Ruple, a National Chair member of the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Selection Committee. "This is the ultimate honor for a student-athlete at the Division III level. It combines the best of academics with athletics excellence. Cody is very deserving of this honor, and I know his parents, the college and president Durst and coach Fisher are extremely proud of him."

Last spring, Kidd served as a co-captain and hit .387 with a team-high 60 base hits in 155 at-bats with a team-leading 34 runs scored. He also led B-W with 13 stolen bases and had 26 RBI. He was selected second-team All-Ohio Athletic Conference, Academic All-OAC, and first-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV for the second consecutive season. He highlighted his accolades by being named as a third-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American.

He enters his senior season with a .375 career batting average (122-of-325) with 91 runs scored, 13 doubles, eight triples, three homers, 52 RBI, 39 stolen bases and a .981 fielding average.