Valparaiso University baseball senior Blake Billinger (Los Gatos, Calif. / St. Francis [Mission]) was recognized for his success on the field and in the classroom on Thursday as he was named to the 2019 Google Cloud Academic All-District Team selected by CoSIDA.

Billinger has started all 42 games for Valpo and holds a .309 batting average to go along with team highs in home runs (nine) and RBIs (32). A 2018 All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team honoree, Billinger ranks among the conference leaders in slugging percentage (.572, fourth), doubles (11, t-eighth), home runs (t-third) and total bases (87, sixth).

In the classroom, Billinger holds a 3.49 grade point average in psychology with a minor in business administration. He is one of 11 honorees on the Academic All-District Team among all student-athletes from Division-I baseball programs in Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Ohio. Billinger becomes the first Valpo player to receive Academic All-District recognition since Nolan Lodden in 2016. Lodden went on to receive Academic All-American honors.

By virtue of the all-district selection, Billinger is eligible for Academic All-American consideration. To be eligible for Academic All-District and Academic All-American recognition, student-athletes must hold at least sophomore status, be in at least their second year at an institution and own a minimum GPA of 3.30.

Billinger joined Valpo’s program for the 2018 season as a junior college transfer. He has started all 95 games since arriving on campus. As a junior, he tied the program record for doubles in a single season with 22. In addition, he became the first Valpo player with a three-double game since 2008, the first with a 5-for-5 game since 2010 and the first with a three-homer game since 2008. Billinger was named to the Preseason All-MVC team prior to the start of 2019.