June 8, 2000
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Two Notre Dame baseball players have been named to the 2000 GTE Academic All-America Baseball Team, as selected by the College Sports Information
Directors of America. Senior second baseman Jeff Perconte (Arlington
Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove HS) was one of 11 players named to first team
while junior lefthander Mike Naumann (Tucson, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic HS)
was the only pitcher among 10 players named to the third team.
Notre Dame baseball players have combined for 15 Academic All-America
awards (since 1977), including a pair of two-time honorees in outfielders
John Loughran ('86, '87) and Dan Peltier ('87, '88). Perconte and Naumann
are the first Irish baseball players to earn Academic All-America honors
since 1992, when first baseman Joe Binkiewicz and infielder Cory Mee were
first-team honorees.
Perconte is the seventh Irish baseball player to receive first-team
Academic All-America honors, with the others including catcher Tim Pollock
('77), infielder Dave Bartish ('80), third baseman James Dee ('84),
Loughran ('86), Binkiewicz and Mee.
Notre Dame was one of seven Division I baseball programs to produce
multiple 2000 Academic All-Americans, with the following schools also
producing two: St. Bonaventure, Davidson, North Carolina, Bucknell, St.
Joseph's (Pa.) and Duquesne (of those teams, Notre Dame and St. Bonaventure
were the other ones that produced a first-teamer). Of the above seven
teams, only two-Notre Dame and UNC-participated in the 2000 NCAA
Tournament.
Perconte closed his career in the spring of 2000 with a perfect 4.0
grade-point average and seventh Dean's List semester before graduating with
a 3.76 cumulative GPA as a double major in economics and government. A
valuable leader of the 2000 Irish baseball squad and a team tri-captain,
Perconte was batting .429 before reaggravating a shoulder injury that
caused him to miss 11 games early in the 2000 season. He opened the 2000
season with 34 error-free games as the starting second baseman and posted a
.975 season fielding pct. in 46 total games played (with just four errors).
Perconte-who will attend law school next fall-appeared in 153 games during
his career while helping the Irish post a 171-73 record (.701) during the
1997-2000 seasons.
Naumann likewise has posted perfect semester GPAs during his Notre Dame
career, with his six Dean's List semesters including three 4.0 terms. A pre-professional science major who intends to attend medical school after
his graduation in May of 2001, 
Naumann heads into his senior year with a
3.93 cumulative GPA. Naumann served as the only lefthander on the 2000
Notre Dame pitching staff that finished among the nation's top-20 leaders
in team ERA (3.93). His career statistics at Notre Dame include a 6-1
record and just 22 walks in 75 innings while his 2000 highlights included a
win over Detroit, a save versus Boston College and a 3.48 season ERA
(second-best on the staff). He allowed just seven walks in 34 innings of
work during the 2000 season.
Six Notre Dame student-athletes have received Academic All-America honors
during 1999-2000, with the others including junior women's basketball
player Ruth Riley (first team), senior hockey player Andy Jurkowski and
senior men's swimmer Ray Fitzpatrick (both third team, for fall/winter "at
large sports) and sophomore softball catcher Jarrah Myers (third team). Two
others currently are being considered for spring "at-large" Academic
All-America status: senior men's golfer Jeff Connell and senior women's
distance runner Alison Klemmer.
2000 GTE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA BASEBALL TEAMS - UNIVERSITY DIVISION
First Team
| Pos. | Name | School | Yr. | Hometown | GPA/Major |
| P | Jason Anderson | Illinois | Jr. | Danville, IL | 3.33/Accountancy |
| P | Jon Smith | Cal State Fullerton | Jr. | Nueyo, CA | 4.00/Business Administration |
| C | Casey Myers | Arizona State | Jr. | Casa Grande, AZ | 4.00/Mathematics |
| IF | Phil Broshears | Evansville | Sr. | Evansville, IN | 3.75/Sports Medicine |
| IF | Andy Green | Kentucky | Sr. | Lexington, KY | 3.89/Finance |
| IF | Jeff Perconte | Notre Dame | Sr. | Arlington Heights, IL | 3.76/Economics/Government |
| IF | Mark Teixeira | Georgia Tech | So. | Severna Park, Md. | 3.31/Economics |
| OF | Jason Milleisen | St. Bonaventure | Sr. | Miller Place, NY | 3.70/Finance |
| OF | Mike Pisani | Michigan State | Sr. | Rochester, MI | 3.74/General Business |
| OF | Aaron Runk | Iowa State | Sr. | Stillwater, MN | 3.76/Finance |
| DH | Brent Laircey | Alabama-Birmingham | Sr. | Statesboro, GA | 3.84/Biology |
Second Team
| Pos. | Name | School | Yr. | Hometown | GPA/Major |
| P | Wes Self | Davidson | Jr. | Independence, VA | 3.90/Biology/Pre-Medicine |
| P | Chris Elmore | North Carolina | Sr. | Virginia Beach, VA | 3.55/Business Administration |
| P | Matt Potalivo | Bucknell | Sr. | Levittown, PA | 3.90/Civil Engineering |
| C | Joe Hietpas | Northwestern | Jr. | Appleton, WI | 3.80/Economics |
| IF | Ben Brown | Davidson | Sr. | Charlotte, NC | 3.66/Economics |
| IF | Mark Evers | St. Bonaventure | Jr. | Troy, NY | 3.50/Finance |
| IF | Sam Hoehner | Morehead State | Sr. | Frankfort, KY | 3.96/Business Admin./Accounting |
| IF | Kevin Kirkby | St. Joseph's (PA) | Jr. | River Vale, NJ | 3.45/Mathematics |
| OF | Carlos Gautreaux | Oklahoma State | Sr. | Abbeville, LA | 3.54/Psychology |
| OF | Jason Turner | Ohio State | Sr. | Versailles, OH | 3.66/Business |
| OF | Tyrell Godwin | North Carolina | Jr. | Council, NC | 3.23/History |
| OF | Rocky Kravetz | Duquesne | Sr. | Pittsburgh, PA | 3.97/History/Political Science |
| DH | Jim Reilly | St. Joseph's (PA) | Jr. | Pittsburgh, PA | 3.98/Chemistry |
Third Team
| Pos. | Name | School | Yr. | Hometown | GPA/Major |
| P | Mike Naumann | Notre Dame | Jr. | Tucson, AZ | 3.93/Pre-Professional Sci. |
| C | Frank Fresconi | Bucknell | Sr. | New Castle, DE | 3.30/Mechanical Engineering |
| IF | Dan Lawler | Creighton | Jr. | Rochester, MN | 3.53/Accounting |
| IF | Scott Pieratt | Central Michigan | Sr. | Mt. Pleasant, MI | 3.50/Elementary Education |
| IF | Jason Smith | North Carolina State | Grad. | Goldsboro, NC | 3.78/Construction Engin. & Mgmt. |
| IF | Nick Danzuso | Duquesne | Sr. | Pittsburgh, PA | 3.47/Business |
| IF | Cory Lunde | Portland | So. | Vancouver, WA | 3.96/Secondary Education |
| OF | Justin Godusky | St. Joseph's (PA) | So. | Macungie, PA | 3.66/Marketing |
| OF | Jared Hertz | Gonzaga | Jr. | LaVerne, CA | 3.90/Finance |
| DH | Ty Martin | Mississippi State | Sr. | West Melbourne, FL | 3.25/Fitness Management |
Note: Perconte and Naumann's GPAs are updated to include the 2000 spring
semester (others are as of the 1999 fall).
