Local Rhode Island Schools Earn ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award

Posted August 15, 2021 by theribbe

I was reading through some social media pages yesterday and came across a post for the ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award. The ABCA is the American Baseball Coaches Association and the award, according to their website, “honors high school and college programs coached by ABCA members that post a cumulative Grade Point Average over 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for the current academic year.” A student athlete who can balance school work with a demanding practice and game schedule and still post a 3.0 grade point average is awesome. An entire team that can post a cumulative 3.0 grade point average and meet the demands of a busy athletic schedule is definitely something to shout about. Three Rhode Island schools accomplished that feat in the academic year of 2020/2021.

Bryant University
Salve Regina University
Bishop Hendricken High School

I reached out to the head coaches of each program for a comment on the award and was so psyched to receive a note from each coach. Here are the comments on the award and what it meant to their school and program.

Ryan Klosterman, Head Baseball Coach, Bryant University – “Thanks for your support. Really appreciate the recognition given to our student athletes and the entire support staff who value the high expectations we have in our baseball program both on the field and in the classroom. It’s an honor to receive this award for the 2nd year in a row.”

Coach Eric Cirella, Head Baseball Coach, Salve Regina University – “Thanks for reaching out. I think this is the 5th or 6th straight year we’ve gotten this award. To be honest, I expect it because I think when we are very good on the field we have done well in the classroom too. This program is big on competing when you get out of bed and being consistent in every facet of being a student athlete.”

Ed Holloway, Head Baseball Coach, Bishop Hendricken High School – “Bishop Hendricken HS and the baseball program are proud of the accomplishment of being named a recipient of the ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award for the 4th year in a row. Our players work extremely hard both in the classroom and on the field. They strive to be the best they can be both academically and athletically. The time required of our student athletes to achieve this award is great. Very nice achievement for our school and players.”

Looking through the ABCA Academic Excellence Award page, I did find that Bryant University has now won this prestigious award 2 years running. Bishop Hendricken High School has won the award 4 years running, beginning in the academic calendar years of 2017/2018. And Salve Regina has in fact won the award 5 years running, beginning in the academic calendar year of 2016/2017. Congratulations to all the schools and their players, coaches, and families for this incredible student-athlete achievement.

Thanks to Coach Klosterman, Coach Cirella, and Coach Holloway for taking a moment to message me about their ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award. For more on the American Baseball Coaches Association and its long standing tradition as a national baseball resource, go to their official website at www.abca.org.

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The RIBBE is The Rhode Island Baseball Experience. It is promoting the game of baseball here in the great state of Rhode Island for the entire baseball world to see. The RIBBE is positive stories, photos, videos, and responsible social media posts. The RIBBE is an information resource for families looking for an AAU team or a summer camp or a great place to buy a first baseman’s mitt. The RIBBE is a network of coaches, tournament directors, parents, leagues, and baseball junkies whose passion of the game of baseball is unquestioned. I believe that providing expert analysis, information and directions to ballfields, and coaching advice from some of the top RI baseball minds will help promote the game of baseball here in RI to a whole new level.