Contact: Ted Schultz, Grinnell College Sports Information Director, schultz@grinnell.edu
GRINNELL, Iowa -- A season of impressive milestones for the Grinnell College baseball team now has another, as Connor Goodson ‘26 claimed one of the biggest honors a college student-athlete can earn - a spot on the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America® Team.
Goodson, a standout first baseman from Norman, Okla. (Norman), collected third-team honors in the NCAA Division III category. He is just the 28th Pioneer overall to be honored as an Academic All-America®.
Goodson is one of just 33 players, and the only one from the Midwest Conference, to be honored at the Division III level. He is one of 10 players on the third team, while the first and second teams had 12 and 11 selections, respectively.
Baseball has been well-represented on the Academic All-America® level for Grinnell over the years, as Goodson is the sixth from the program to earn such recognition and the first since Mike Nodzenski in 2012.
The Academic All-America Team® recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The squad is selected by members of the College Sports Communicators (formerly College Sports Information Directors of America, or CoSIDA), including Grinnell Sports Information Director Ted Schultz.
The biological chemistry major helped Grinnell to its first-ever Midwest Conference and MWC Tournament crowns, as well as its first trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Goodson, a two-time All-MWC selection, is also a two-time ABCA/Rawlings All-Region honoree while claiming similar honors from D3baseball.com this year. A multi-year Academic All-District selection, Goodson has garnered Academic All-Conference honors three times.
Goodson led the Pioneers in multiple categories this season, including batting average (.402), runs (54), hits (66), sacrifice flies (five), RBIs (63) and total bases (113). The marks for runs, hits and RBIs are school records, as are his double plays turned (31).
On the Pioneers’ career chart, he ranks in the top 10 in 13 categories including batting average (.359), slugging percentage (.634), on-base percentage (.449), runs (110), doubles (32), home runs (25), RBIs (130), total bases (260), fielding chances (830), putouts (782) and double plays turned (67).