PROVIDENCE, R.I., March 2, 2017 – Senior pitcher Mark Savarese (Palm City, Fla.) was recognized as the 2017 Institutional Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the American Athletic Conference on Thursday.
Along with earning the distinction as Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Savarese will receive a $2,000 scholarship for postgraduate or professional studies.
Faculty athletic representatives at each American Athletic Conference institution may annually nominate one male candidate for an Institutional Scholar-Athlete Scholarship. All nominees must have maintained both excellent academic credentials (minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.00) and outstanding athletic performance; must have competed in an American Athletic Conference-sponsored sport; and must have attained a minimum of senior standing, as determined by the respective institution.
In the classroom, Savarese holds a 3.5 cumulative GPA and is working on earning his bachelor of science in marketing. The senior right-hander has partaken in various community service activities which include Buddy Baseball, USF's Stampede of Service and Walk-A-Mile in Her Shoes to help raise awareness on the issues of sexual assault and gender violence.
On the diamond, Savarese has a career 4.50 ERA in 24.0 innings out of the bullpen. He has recorded 20 strikeouts and picked up the win at No. 3 Florida State on Feb. 21 of this season.
About USF Baseball
The University of South Florida baseball team is one of the fastest rising programs in the country. Under the guidance of head coach Mark Kingston, the Bulls reached the NCAA Regionals in 2015 for the first time in 13 years and USF followed that success with a consensus Top 10 recruiting class. Five players from that recruiting class were everyday starters in 2016 including outfielder Chris Chatfield (Riverview, Fla.), who led the team in home runs, and catcher Joe Genord (Lake Worth, Fla.), who was named the 2016 PGCBL Player of the Year. The Bulls won series from two ranked teams in 2016 (No. 21 East Carolina, No. 25 Michigan State, began the 2017 season with a series win over Iowa and earned just it's second win over a top-five team with 4-2 victory against No. 3 Florida State on Feb. 21.
The USF Baseball program has won five conference titles and the Bulls have made 11 NCAA appearances. Follow the baseball team on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram), visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information, and purchase tickets for upcoming games at USFBullsTix.com . For tickets, contact the USF Ticket Office at 1-800-Go-Bulls or by going online to USFBullsTix.com.
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