LEXINGTON, Va.- Following a season that saw senior Kelly Sweppenhiser set numerous records and become VMI's first Dick Howser Award Watch Listee, the third baseman from Herndon, Pa. has been named the Big South Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year, as well as First Team All-Conference for the second consecutive season. Sophomore hurler Trey Barham also earned Second Team All-Conference honors, as the honors were announced Wednesday evening prior to game three of the 2006 Bojangles' Big South Baseball Championship presented by PUPS/PDPS.

Sweppenhiser, an Economics and Business major, is the first Keydet baseball player to receive the annual academic honor since VMI joined the League in 2003. He joins fellow Keydets Kevin Sullivan (Men's Indoor Track & Field) and Chris Brandriff (Men's Outdoor Track & Field) in being named their sport's Big South Scholar-Athlete this season, as voted upon by the sports information directors. Earlier this season, he was also selected to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team.

On the field, Sweppenhiser led the Keydets with a .350 batting average, 72 hits, seven home runs, 41 RBI, a .524 slugging percentage and a .479 on-base percentage. He also set a new school record by scoring 58 runs, while also setting new career marks with 263 hits, 172 runs, 411 total bases, 756 at bats and a .457 on-base percentage, while also ranking in the top five in the program's history in doubles, home runs, RBI and batting average. He becomes the first Keydet to earn First Team All-Conference honors in back-to-back seasons since fellow third baseman Eric Walker did so in 1999 and 2000 in the Southern Conference.

Meanwhile, Barham (Portsmouth, Va.) capped a stellar sophomore campaign by becoming the first VMI pitcher to be honored as All-Conference by the Big South. The ace of the Keydet staff this season posted a 7-5 record with a 3.53 ERA, while his 94.1 innings and 98 strikeouts each rank as the second-most in a single-season in school history. His seven wins also tie him for the second-most in a single-season, while his .211 opposing batting average in Big South play ranked second in the League in that category. He also went the distance against both Charleston Southern and Coastal Carolina in conference play, allowing no earned runs in 18 innings in those two outings.

The Keydets posted their first winning season in 41 years by going 30-25, breaking the school record for wins for the third time in four seasons. To do so, VMI won the final two contests of the season versus then-#16 Winthrop, taking their first series over a ranked team in the program's history, while completing their first-ever 30-win campaign.

Among the other award winners were High Point skipper Sal Bando Jr. being named Coach of the Year, Winthrop hurler Alex Wilson earning Freshman of the Year honors, while Winthrop junior first baseman/pitcher Heath Rollins and High Point senior outfielder Mark Shorey were voted Big South Baseball co-Most Valuable Players for the 2006 season, the first time the League has ever seen the award shared. Other honorees included:

2006 Big South Baseball Award Winners

FIRST-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
P Alex Wilson, Fr., Winthrop
P Heath Rollins, Jr., Winthrop
P Brandon Hynick, Jr., Birmingham-Southern
C Blake Burton, Sr., Birmingham-Southern
1B Heath Rollins, Jr., Winthrop
2B Chris Carrara, Jr., Winthrop
3B Kelly Sweppenhiser, Sr., VMI
SS Matt Repec, Sr., Winthrop
OF Mark Shorey, Sr., High Point
OF Jacob Dempsey, Sr., Winthrop
OF Tommy Lentz, Jr., Winthrop
DH Chris Norwood, Soph., High Point

SECOND-TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
P Eammon Portice, Soph., High Point
P David Horne, Sr., Birmingham-Southern
P Trey Barham, Soph., VMI
C Billy Aguiar, Fr., High Point
1B Brandon Hynick, Jr., Birmingham-Southern
2B Michael Just, Sr., Liberty
3B Chad Miller, Sr., Liberty
SS Matt Barber, Sr., Birmingham-Southern
OF Phillip Laurent, Sr., Liberty
OF Mark Goforth, Fr., Birmingham-Southern
OF Justin Fyle, Jr., Charleston Southern
DH David Perkins, Jr., Charleston Southern

ALL-ACADEMIC TEAM
Ronny Woods, Birmingham-Southern
David Perkins, Charleston Southern
Aaron Verrett, Coastal Carolina
Matt Christie, High Point
Phillip Thompson, Liberty
John Vellines, Radford
Ben Buchanan, UNC Asheville
Kelly Sweppenhiser, VMI
Tommy Lentz, Winthrop

CO-MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Heath Rollins, P/1B, Winthrop
Mark Shorey, OF, High Point

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Alex Wilson, P, Winthrop

COACH OF THE YEAR
Sal Bando Jr., High Point

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Kelly Sweppenhiser, VMI