NORFOLK, Va. – Norfolk State senior outfielder Brian Beard has been voted to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District 3 baseball team, the organization announced.

To qualify for the team, student-athletes must have attended their respective schools for at least one year and have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.3 in addition to making a significant impact on their teams. The District 3 team consists of players from Division I universities in Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee.

Beard, a redshirt senior, has a 3.80 GPA and is majoring in business management. In the last year, Beard has been a member of the MEAC All-Academic Team and NSU Athletics Director's Honor Roll, and was the 2015-16 NSU Male Scholar Athlete of the Year.

On the field, Beard is batting .331 with 10 doubles, four triples, 22 RBI and 16 stolen bases. He is second in the MEAC in triples and fourth in stolen bases. He has also made 10 appearances on the mound and has two saves. Though primarily an outfielder, Beard has started games at every position on the diamond this season except catcher and shortstop.

According to available records, Beard is the first Spartan baseball player to earn CoSIDA Academic All-District honors. As a member of the District 3 team, Beard will now move onto the ballot for the CoSIDA Academic All-America baseball team, which will be voted on later this month and released in early June.