May 9, 2008

QUEENS, N.Y. - St. John's senior baseball players George Brown and Jeff Grantham as well as sophomore Brian Kemp were all named to the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District first team. As a result, all three student-athletes have been added to the ballot for Academic All-America status.

Brown, a starting pitcher, is a 9-0 with a 2.74 ERA in 11 starts this season. The lefty has 50 strikeouts and has issued just seven walks in 72.1 innings. Brown leads the BIG EAST and is tied for fifth in the country in wins. The lefty also ranks fourth in the nation with just 0.87 walks per nine innings. Brown also allows just a .245 opponent batting average. An accounting major, Brown has a 3.47 GPA.

Grantham earns first team Academic All-District honors for the second straight season. A year ago, the shortstop was also named a CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine first team Academic All-American. Grantham ranks second on the team with a .350 batting average and leads the squad with a .485 on-base percentage. The senior has six doubles, one home run, 27 runs scored and 20 RBI. Grantham is a physics major and boasts a 3.97 GPA.

Kemp, meanwhile, is the only non-senior in District I to earn first team honors. The outfielder has a team-best .364 batting average and also leads the team with 16 stolen bases. The sophomore has three doubles, four triples and one home run on the year. Kemp has scored 27 runs and also has 20 RBI. The sophomore has a 3.66 GPA in management.