Tanis Named to NCBWA All-America Second Team, Signs with Oakland Athletics

MACON, Ga. – Mercer junior Jacob Tanis was named to the 2011 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association All-America second team as announced by the organization on Wednesday afternoon.

This is Tanis’ third All-American honor during his brilliant career as a Bear after being named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American in 2009 and a Louisville Slugger third team All-American in 2010.

The Peachtree City, Ga. native was one of just four Atlantic Sun Conference players on the list after being named a Preseason All-American by the publication back in December.

Tanis had another rock solid campaign for the Bears, leading Mercer to 39 wins and a runner-up finish in the 2011 A-Sun Championship. Tanis finished the season leading the conference with 75 RBI while ranking among the A-Sun Top-10 in home runs (T-2nd – 15), total bases (4th – 145), runs scored (6th – 61), slugging percentage (7th - .612), hits (T-8th – 83) and on-base percentage (10th - .446).

Tanis was rewarded for his efforts when he was taken by the Oakland Athletics in the 13th round (406^th overall pick) of the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft.

After a brilliant career in the Orange and Black, Tanis just recently decided to sign with the Athletics on Tuesday and forego his senior season at Mercer. Tanis leaves behind some eye-popping numbers as he moves onto pro ball, finishing his career with a .363 batting average while ranking fifth with 48 career home runs and ninth with 198 career RBI on the A-Sun All-Time list.