LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Biola junior outfielder Benji Sutherland was honored on Friday as he was named a 2012 Capital One Academic All-District 8 baseball team, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and released on Friday. The honor recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and academically.

Sutherland was one of eight student-athletes selected to the college division first-team, which is comprised of the NAIA, Canadian and junior colleges in Washington, Oregon, California, Hawaii, Alaska and the 13 provinces and territories in Canada. Seven of the eight members of the first-team are from the GSAC.

Sutherland, a junior from Orange, had the third-highest GPA of any member of the first-team with a 3.88 GPA in his pursuit of a Biblical Studies degree. Sutherland also excelled on the field, ranking second on the team with a .332 batting average. He led the Eagles with 46 runs, 17 doubles and two triples and added 70 hits, 28 RBIs, three home runs and was 10-of-12 in stolen base attempts.  Sutherland was the lone player on the team to start all 53 games for Biola this season.

To be nominated for all-district consideration, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) for her career. No athlete is eligible until he/she has reached sophomore athletic and academic standing and has spent at least one year at the school.

As members of the district's first-team, Sutherland is now eligible to earn CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-America honors. Seven Biola athletes have ever earned CoSIDA Academic All-American honors, the last was volleyball player Joy Talcott, who earned third-team honors earlier this year. The 2012 Baseball Academic All-American team is scheduled to be announced on Tuesday, May 29.

To view the complete list of Academic All-District Winners, click here (PDF file).