Brevard's Chaplain Named South Atlantic Conference Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Brevard's J.D. Chaplain was voted the South Atlantic Conference Baseball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the League announced today.  He earned the honor for his achievements in academics, athletics, service and leadership.

The South Atlantic Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is presented annually to one student-athlete in each of the Conference's championship sports, and is voted on by the SAC's Faculty Athletic Representatives Committee.

Chaplain, a senior from Black Mountain, N.C., sports a GPA of 3.62 in business and organizational leadership.  He is a member of Sigma Beta Delta, the international business honor society and has earned Dean's List honors in six of his seven semesters at Brevard.

"I'm so happy to see J.D. get this recognition," said Brevard head coach Matt McCay. "He's worked very hard here and I'm so proud to have had the opportunity to have coached him.  He has made a huge difference in our program, but more importantly on our campus, with the type of student and person he is."

He finished the 2015 season with a 4.99 ERA as he posted 43 strikeouts in 61.1 innings-pitched.  Against Tusculum, BC's final series of the season, Champlain turned in a complete game win with five strikeouts to propel the Tornados into the 2015 South Atlantic Conference Baseball Championship.  He retired 23 of the first 27 batters faced to give Brevard its first SAC Tournament bid since the 2012 season.

Chaplain is very active in the community as he serves as a volunteer with several organizations.  He was responsible for raising nearly $500 through team fundraisers for Western North Carolina's Cancer Foundation to benefit pediatric cancer patients.  His mission trips include a trip to West Virginia to help provide for hungry families during Thanksgiving, spreading the Christian faith through baseball in Tennessee and a trip to Vancouver, B.C. to teach people about God.  He served two years as the president of the Brevard College Fellowship of Christian Athletes and has spent the last three years as a coach for the Transylvania Country Recreation Department Youth Baseball Program.  During his sophomore season, Chaplain spent time in the local hospital to visit with children that suffered serious injuries playing baseball and had the Brevard College baseball team sign a jersey for the hospital.

Chaplain also serves as a guest speaker at local churches and is an active volunteer with Brevard Community Church's Fall Festival.