ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Sophomore catcher Maria Schroeder (Lake Zurich, Ill./Lake Zurich) was a First-Team Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete selection and junior pitcher Jaelen Hull (Clifton, Ill./Bishop McNamara) earned honorable mention Valley Scholar-Athlete distinction according to an announcement by the league office Monday afternoon.
A two-time Second-Team All-MVC performer, Schroeder moved to catcher full time nearing the midway point of the regular-season after starting at second base for the bulk of the non-conference schedule. During the last 29 games after moving behind the plate, she boasted a team-best .360 average with 22 runs and 15 RBI to go with a .510 on base percentage.
In conference games, Schroeder led the Braves with a .373 average and 20 runs, while ranking third in the MVC with a .527 on base percentage. She finished the year with a .336 average and 30 runs to rank second on the team in both in addition to raking third on the squad with 25 RBI, while drawing a team-best 22 walks. This spring, Schroeder was hit by a pitch a league-high time 12 times to tie the Bradley season mark and her team-best .470 on base percentage ranked fifth among Bradley season records.
A marketing major with a 3.76 cumulative grade point average, Schroeder drove in 59 runs in her first two seasons on The Hilltop which ranks as the most by a Brave prior to their junior season. Her career .449 on base percentage would rank second in school history and her .489 slugging percentage is seventh all-time at Bradley.
Hull led the Braves in ERA (4.72), appearances (31), starts (22), complete games (8), shutouts (2), innings pitched (129.0 and strikeouts (103). The MVC Pitcher of the Week of the week of May 2, she tied for the team lead with four wins in MVC play. Hull tossed a one-hit complete game shutout in the series opener against Loyola, striking out a career-high 12 hitters for the most strikeouts by a Bradley pitcher since 2009.
A dietetics major with a 3.81 cumulative grade point average, Hull had three saves this spring and is tied for third in school history with five career saves. She will enter her senior season tied for 10th in school history with 214 career strikeouts and is 11th all-time at Bradley with 350.2 career innings pitched.
Hull's 129.0 innings pitched in 2016 ranked ninth in the MVC and she was sixth in the Valley in strikeouts. She was the Bradley COUNTRY Financial Scholar-Athlete of the Week for the week of May 4 and is a two-time NFCA All-American Scholar-Athlete.
In order to be eligible, student-athletes must have at 3.2 GPA or higher, be at least a sophomore in athletic and academic standing and meet certain playing requirements.
