May 19, 2022

AU Highlighted in NCCAA Baseball Awards

KANSAS CITY, Mo. --- Multiple members of the Asbury baseball team were recognized Thursday evening at the National Christian College Athletic Association's banquet for the NCCAA 2022 World Series. 

Senior Kaiden Zacharias was named the 2022 Hank Burbridge Award recipient for baseball. The award is in recognition to the impact and service of long time baseball coach Hank Burbridge at Spring Arbor University. Coach Burbridge was named NCCAA National Coach of the Year 4 times and was inducted into the NCCAA Hall of Fame in 1993. Coach Burbridge was a mentor, leader, and was intentional about every opportunity to share Christ.

Zacharias, the AU outfielder and captain has put together a very strong season for the Eagles with a .324 average, 45 hits, 10 doubles, 9 home runs, and 37 RBIs. Kaiden's impact has also extended off the field as he spent the 2021 summer in Southern California with Fellowship of Christian Athletes coaching baseball clinics and sharing the Gospel. Kaiden also boast a 3.37 GPA as he recently graduated from Asbury with a Exercise Science degree.

"Kaiden embodies the servant-leader model we hope to instill in all our players," Head Baseball Coach Manny Cervantes said. "He's trustworthy, a hard-worker, and thinks of others before himself." See the full story with this Link. 

The Eagles also produced three members of the team to be honored as NCCAA Scholar-Athletes. 
        Matthew Baker, Walker Paris, and David Savastio

To qualify for NCCAA Scholar-Athlete Award, the nominees must be a junior, senior or graduate student and must have completed at least one term. The student-athletes must have earned a GPA of 3.40 or higher and have maintained a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.40 on a 4.00 scale.