University of North Carolina Athletics
Moss Earns First-Team Academic All-America Honors
June 4, 2015 | Baseball, Academics
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Recent North Carolina graduate Benton Moss has been named to the 2015 Capital One Academic All-America Division I Baseball team, which recognizes both academic and athletic achievement and was announced on Thursday. Moss, a right-handed pitcher from Enfield, N.C., is the first player in UNC baseball history to earn first-team Academic All-America honors.
A business administration and economics double major who graduated in May, Moss attended UNC on a Morehead-Cain Scholarship, the University's most prestigious academic grant. As a senior, he received the Jim Tatum Memorial Award, a University honor awarded annually to one varsity student-athlete who has excelled athletically while also contributing to UNC through extracurricular involvement. He also earned the ACC Senior Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award and the Top 10 Scholar-Athlete Award.
Moss finished his Tar Heel baseball career ranked second in school history in career strikeouts, fifth in career innings pitched, seventh in career winning percentage, and eighth in career wins. As a senior in 2015, he went 7-1 with a 3.44 ERA in 13 appearances.
He was selected in the 15th round of the 2014 MLB Draft but chose to return to UNC for his senior year. By the end of 2015, he ranked as one of just four pitchers in Carolina history to strike out more than 300 batters.
In addition to his academic and athletic achievements, he is a talented musician (piano, guitar) who has performed at the Rammy Awards in each of the last three years. He also is member of Athletes in Action and participated in the Richard A. Baddour Carolina Leadership Academy as part of the Veteran Leaders program, the highest level of leadership training.
Academic All-America honors are selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and are based on athletic and academic achievement. Nominees must have at least a 3.3 cumulative grade point average. Moss has been named to the Academic All-District team, the first level of honors, in each of the last three years.
Moss is the only Atlantic Coast Conference player to make the baseball first team. Sam Koenig of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was honored as the Academic All-America of the Year.
UNC Baseball's Academic All-America Selections
Chris Elmore, 2000, 2nd team
Tyrell Godwin, 2000, 2nd team
Adam Warren, 2009, 3rd team
Benton Moss, 2015, 1st team
