Special to The North Jefferson News



BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Former UAB first baseman Ryan Keedy has been named to the Pro-Line Athletic National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) All-America Third Team as announced by the organization Wednesday.

Keedy was a 16th round pick by the Chicago Cubs in the 2008 MLB Draft and was named a third-team Collegiate Baseball Louisville Slugger All-American following the 2008 season.

Keedy is the fourth Blazer all-time to earn All-America recognition and is the second to be recognized as an All-American by multiple organizations or publications.

In all, four Conference USA players were named NCBWA All-Americans.

Keedy, a first-team All-Conference USA selection this past season, posted the third highest single-season batting average in school history this past season and fourth highest in Conference USA history (.423). He finished his UAB career with a school record .382 career batting average.

The Gardendale, Ala. native set the UAB school record for doubles in a single-season with 29 and tied a school record with 99 hits in 2008, while also finishing with 69 RBI to rank fifth all-time at UAB.

He had 46 walks to help him boast an on base percentage of .519, which is the second highest figure in Conference USA history.

Current Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis held a .549 on base percentage playing for Cincinnati in 2001 to set the league superlative.

Defensively, Keedy made just one error, while leading the league in putouts with 513.