OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Warsaw Community High School graduate Chase Byerly is among thirty NCAA baseball student-athletes selected as candidates for the 2013 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate baseball. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition. The 2013 candidate class includes 15 candidates who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or higher. Five were named to the CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-American team, and four were All-Americans. Byerly is the closing pitcher for the Butler Bulldogs and boasts a 3.98 GPA and was named third team CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2012. He has been on the Dean’s list at Butler since 2010 and was a Lilly Scholar (free tuition) coming out of high school. He is a member of two academic honors fraternities: Beta Gamma Sigma and Alpha Lambda Delta. As Butler’s closer, he ranked second in the conference with 10 saves. He pitched 45.1 innings with 32 strikeouts against 5 walks. He ranked second in the league in games finished two years in a row. His career numbers include four wins and 14 saves along with 74 strikeouts and 29 walks. In summer baseball, he was named “Fireman of the Year” in 2011 for his work in a collegiate summer league. The candidate class will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2013 NCAA College World Series in Omaha June 15 to 26.
