BOSTON — A conference-best four members of the Hartford baseball team landed spots on the America East All-Academic Team, the organization announced on Wednesday afternoon. Sophomore
Will Nowak, junior
Drew DeMartino and redshirt-junior Nate Florence joined senior
Jackson Olson in earning the honor, which recognizes student-athletes for their outstanding accomplishments in the classroom and on the field.
Olson becomes the sixth player in program history to earn three nods to the America East All-Academic Team, joining
Simon Kudernatsch, Roger Wilmot,
Brian Hunter,
James Alfonso and David MacKinnon. Also a three-time America East Commissioner's Honor Roll member, the New Milford, Conn., native owns the second highest GPA on the 10-member All-Academic Team with a 3.82 mark as a marketing major.
On the field, Olson has been a standout infielder since arriving at Hartford, starting in 146 of 161 career games. A career .287 hitter who has belted out 161 hits —including 30 doubles, four triples and four home runs — he adds 60 career runs and 57 RBI. In addition, Olson, who was named to the 2018 America East All-Tournament Team after helping lead the Hawks to their first conference championship and NCAA Tournament appearance, recorded the third-most hits (68) in a single season in 2019.
A risk management/insurance and finance major, DeMartino earns America East All-Academic Team honors for the second time in his career, having previously earned the award as a sophomore in 2019. He is a two-time America East Commissioner's Honor Roll member who holds a 3.66 cumulative GPA.
An infielder, DeMartino sports a career .253 batting average with 44 runs and 36 RBI in 87 games played. Earning a spot on the America East All-Tournament Team on two occasions, he was named the Most Outstanding Player of the conference tournament as a rookie in 2018 after combining for six hits and four RBI during Hartford's historic postseason run. DeMartino was ranked No. 3 in the league in walks (10), No. 5 in home runs (2) and No. 9 in slugging percentage (.450) in 2020.
Florence is also a repeat America East All-Academic Team member, having previously earned the distinction as a sophomore in 2018. In the classroom, the three-time America East Commissioner's Honor Roll member holds a 3.64 GPA as a management major.
A pitcher from Wilbraham, Mass., Florence has recorded 147 career strikeouts in 33 appearances and 146.2 innings. He put together an impressive sophomore campaign in 2018, earning America East All-Conference Second Team honors after leading the conference and finishing second in program history behind Sean Newcomb with 93 strikeouts. After missing the 2019 season due to injury Florence was off to a strong start in his return in 2020, ranking No. 7 in the America East in both ERA and opposing batting average, and No. 8 in wins.
Nowak, a native of South Windsor, Conn., takes home All-Academic Team honors for the first time in his career after posting a 3.71 GPA as a finance major. He was named to the America East Commissioner's Honor Roll at the conclusion of his rookie season, in 2019.
Nowak has been the anchor of Hartford's bullpen over the past two seasons. Last year he was named to the America East All-Rookie Team after posting a team-best six wins and finishing second in the conference with seven saves, the third-most in a single season in program history. Nowak, who ranks No. 4 all-time with 10 career saves, was the America East's saves-leader in 2020 with three.
The baseball team was off to a 6-6 start to the 2020 campaign before the season ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
