Missouri State sophomore designated hitter Ben Carlson has earned a spot on the CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America third team, it was announced Tuesday.

MSU’s 12th academic all-American in baseball and first since Brooks Colvin in 2004, Carlson was a first-team all-Missouri Valley Conference choice at designated hitter and carries a 3.90 GPA in general business.

A native of Topeka, Kan., Carlson led the MVC with 17 homers while driving in a team-high 67 runs and finishing the season with a .379 batting average. His home run and RBI totals were the most for a Bear since Ryan Howard in the 2000 season.

The Bears finished the 2008 campaign at 40-17 overall and 18-6 in conference play to finish second in the MVC.