MACON, Ga. – For the second time in as many weeks, former Bears’ outfielder John Dortch has collected a postseason graduate scholarship. The outfielder for Craig Gibson’s baseball squad continues to add academic accolades after becoming the second consecutive Mercer baseball player to earn the Atlantic Sun Conference’s male postseason graduate scholarship two weeks ago at the conference meetings.
This time the scholarship was a national award with each of the regional selection committees sending their top 10-15 list to the national committee. The national committee then selected 29 male and 29 female winners for each of the three seasons (fall, winter, spring) with Dortch being selected among the top 29 males in the spring term nationally.
Dr. Jeff Hugdahl, Mercer Faculty Athletic Representative, pointed out that Mercer’s region had approximately 50 women and 30 men student-athletes apply for the spring award.
Dortch graduated from Mercer summa cum laude with a 3.98 cumulative grade point average as an economics major with a chemistry minor. The native of Tallahassee, Fla., garnered second-team all-conference honors last season and was also selected to CoSIDA’s Academic All-District first team in May.
The right fielder has spent personal time directing the Upward Basketball Camp League in Tallahassee, working for the Macon Habitat for Humanity and volunteering at the Coliseum Medical Center.
In 2008 Dortch led the Bears in triples (4), RBIs (50), total bases (106) and was tied for the team lead in home runs with six.
Dortch plans to attend the University of Florida Medical School this fall.
