June 13, 2023 - GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids Community College baseball ace Jerad Berkenpas’ was named Division II First Team All-American by the National Junior College Athletic Association after an outstanding season.
Berkenpas, who was also named All-American last season, joins Mike Pojeski, Doug Wabeke and Tyler Hall as the only other two-time NJCAA baseball All-Americans at GRCC. He's also the first player to earn first-team honors since Hall in 2010.
Berkenpas was one of 36 players selected by the NJCAA, and one of nine pitchers chosen. He joins three other players from Region XII; Hunter Lay, Hunter Shaw and Shane Juday, all from Lansing Community College.
A sophomore from Byron Center, Berkenpas earlier was named Northern Conference Player of the Year, and to the All-Region and All-MCCAA team.
The 6-foot, 5-inch righty from South Christian High School was GRCC's top pitcher in the rotation and led the team with an 8-2 record, 1.44 ERA, 71 strikeouts, .194 opponents' batting average, and had seven complete games. His ERA was second best of all NJCAA Division II players.
Berkenpas finished his historic career at GRCC with a 17-4 record and 1.68 ERA. He appeared in 31 games, started in 22, had 11 complete games and pitched five shutouts. In 145 innings, he totaled 151 strikeouts against just 22 walks, and opponents batted just .207 against him.
Berkenpas is the 32nd All-American in GRCC baseball history, and will be playing at Davenport University next season.
He is the fifth GRCC student-athlete to earn All-American honors this year.
Cross country runners Kaylee Scott and Audrey Meyering were selected after their performances in the NJCAA DII National Championships in November; Audrey Torres earned the honor after helping the volleyball team to a fifth-place finish at the NJCAA DII National Tournament; and Izzy Regner led the softball team to a conference championship and runner-up finish in regionals.
GRCC's baseball team finished the 2023 campaign as the Northern Conference champions with a 23-2 record and the MCCAA champions with a 35-14 record. The season included a 17-game win streak.
This story was reported by Ben Brown.