South West Illinois News

Three Salukis have been named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete team, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale announced recently.

Greg Lambert and Ryan Sabo were named to the first team and Ryan Netemeyer received an honorable mention selection.

This is Sabo’s third and final time on the Scholar-Athlete team. A native of Tennessee, Sabo graduated in May with a finance degree and a 4.0 GPA. He also racked up 122 hits, 22 doubles and six home runs. 

Netemeyer, a junior from Belleville, finished the year with 15 saves for the Salukis -- tied for second most in the NCAA. He also was a semifinalist for the National Pitcher of the Year award. Netemeyer didn’t give up an earned run in March or April. 

Lambert, an Alabama native, was named to the All-MVC first team, setting a school record with 25 doubles and leading the team in batting average, hits, doubles, home runs and RBIs. According to an SIU press release, Lambert was one of only two players to be named to both the All-MVC first team and MVC Student-Athlete first team. 

The Salukis have set records for collective team GPA for the past three seasons. Since Ken Henderson took over as head coach, 20 players have been named to the MVC Scholar-Athletes list.