GREENSBORO, N.C. – Northwest Mississippi Community College has earned another national academic honor for one of its athletic programs, as the Ranger baseball program has been recognized as a recipient of the American Baseball Coaches Association's (ABCA) Team Academic Excellence Award for the 2018-19 academic year.

Under 15th-year head coach Mark Carson, the Rangers posted a 3.16 GPA in the classroom and finished 33-14 on the diamond. Northwest was unranked to open the 2019 campaign, but advanced to the postseason for a 10th consecutive season and finished with a No. 9 national ranking in the final NJCAA Division II poll.

In order to be considered for the ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award, a team must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 on a 4.0 scale during the 2018-19 academic year. Northwest joined Southwest Mississippi as one of two MACJC programs to be honored and LSU Eunice as one of only three within the NJCAA's Region 23.

A record number of teams were recognized with the 2018-19 ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award. In total, 305 college and high school programs received this year's award, including 97 high school teams and 208 NCAA, NAIA and junior college programs.

"We are proud to once again honor the academic achievements of so many of our member programs," said ABCA Executive Director Craig Keilitz. "The off-the-field success of this year's award winners is a testament to the hard work of the student-athletes and the commitment of coaches and academic personnel to developing well-rounded individuals."

The American Baseball Coaches Association has a long tradition of recognizing the achievements of baseball coaches and student-athletes. The ABCA/Rawlings All-America Teams are the nation's oldest, founded in 1949, and the ABCA's awards program also includes the ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Awards, the ABCA/Diamond Regional & National Coaches of the Year and several other major awards such as the ABCA Hall of Fame and the Dave Keilitz Ethics in Coaching Award.