Baseball’s Keith Heck Named CACC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Philadelphia University first baseman/designated hitter Keith Heck was named the male 2006-07 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Scholar-Athlete of the Year in an announcement made Tue., July 10 by Commissioner Dan Mara. He is now eligible for the NCAA Division II Commissioners Association Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award.

To be considered for the award, student-athletes must have performed with distinction on their team and possess legitimate athletic credentials. The nominee must have attained a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 and be considered a credit to their institution.

"I would like to congratulate Keith for his academic and athletic achievements at Philadelphia University," said Mara, "[W]e are proud to nominate him for the national award."

Heck was named the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Baseball Player of the Year and was given the Philadelphia University President's Award for contributions to the team during his tenure, with the primary criteria being academic achievement. He graduated from the University with a 3.65 GPA as a Pre-Med major. He will attend medical school this fall at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ).

"I have had the pleasure of coaching Keith Heck for the last four years-two as an assistant and two as the head coach," said baseball skipper Mark Heineman, who added, "Keith has been a tremendous baseball player and an asset to our program. He is a dedicated and driven student-athlete and his resume at Philadelphia University is exemplary. He was voted MVP by his teammates after both his junior and senior seasons in 2006 and 2007. Keith is highly competitive, energetic and pushes himself to be the best he can be. As demonstrated by his constant presence on the field-hitting and working on his skills, whether at team practices or outside of them-he's proven himself to be one of our hardest workers."

Heck, a native of Cherry Hill, N.J., topped the CACC in hitting last season with a .407 batting average. He accumulated 55 hits in 35 games while belting 11 homers and driving in 45 runs for the Rams. He ranked third in the league in slugging percentage (.711), fourth in on-base percentage (.481) and home runs and fifth in RBI and total bases (96).

Heck was a three-time All-Conference performer for the Rams. As a sophomore, he was tabbed both ABCA/Rawlings and NCBWA first-team All-Northeast Region while garnering New York Collegiate Athletic Conference (NYCAC) first-team All-Conference accolades. As a junior and senior, Heck gathered second-team All-CACC distinctions and also was the CACC Player of the Week three times in 2006 and 2007. He concluded his Philadelphia University career ranked second all-time in Rams history with 22 home runs while also placing third with 134 RBI, fifth with 212 hits and seventh with 39 doubles.