The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) announced today that University of Illinois Springfield baseball player Austin Alderman has been named the GLVC Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Alderman is the first Prairie Star baseball player to earn this honor.
 
The league selects one student-athlete in each Conference sport to be designated the GLVC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The award is based upon athletic accomplishments, both team and individual, and academic performance in the season upon which the award is based. Nominees must have a minimum of a 3.30 cumulative grade point average, and freshmen and first-year transfers are not eligible for the award. The voting is completed by each member institution's Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR).
 
Alderman was a first-team all-GLVC selection and second-team all-region performer this past season. Alderman finished in the top-50 in NCAA Division II in hits, home runs, runs, RBI, and total bases. He batted .354 this season with a .646 slugging percentage and a .459 on-base percentage. In 59 games, he recorded 66 runs, 79 hits, nine doubles, four triples, 16 home runs, 66 RBI, and 144 total bases.
 
Alderman has been a member of the UIS program since 2018, including starting nearly every game since 2019. He finished his career with 199 hits, 168 runs, 154 RBI, 27 doubles, 11 triples, and 31 home runs. He batted .351 with a .601 slugging percentage and a .454 on-base percentage. He is the program's all-time leader in triples, and ranks in the top-three at UIS in runs, hits, home runs, RBI, and total bases.
 
This season, Alderman earned his fifth GLVC Academic All-Conference team. He was also an Academic All-District selection for the second straight year, and was named a third-team Academic All-American.
 
Alderman was a key player for UIS winning 136 games over the last four years, and winning two GLVC Division Championships and one GLVC Tournament Championship. He helped UIS reach the NCAA postseason all three years that the tournament was held, including advancing to two NCAA Division II Super Regionals and this year's NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament.