The Ohio Valley Conference announced the 2014-15 Scholar-Athlete Award winners Friday. Senior baseball student-athlete and Valle 2009 graduate, Jason Blum, has been chosen as one of six OVC student-athletes to earn the prestigious award.
The award is the highest individual honor that can be earned by OVC student-athletes, and is given annually to three men and three women student-athletes for their accomplishments in both the classroom and athletic arena, and because of their leadership qualities.
“I’m extremely proud of Jason as this is the highest honor that can be bestowed upon a student-athlete in the OVC,” said Director of Athletics Mark Alnutt. “Jason strives to succeed in the classroom, community and on the field and is the true definition of a Southeast Missouri Student-Athlete. I would also like to congratulate our coaching staff under the leadership of Coach Bieser who makes it a point to emphasize the overall development of the young men in our baseball program.”
Blum is a second baseman in his final season of eligibility with the Southeast Missouri baseball team. A three-year starter, he has been a team captain for the Redhawks and helped the team to the 2014 OVC Regular Season Championship. Last season, he started every game at second base and was the leadoff hitter every game. He ranks in Southeast’s top-ten categories in single season runs (60), walks (38), hit by pitch (18), and stolen bases (23), all in 2014.
He ranks among Southeast’s top-ten in career categories as well: walks (86), stolen bases (37), and he holds the record for being hit by a pitch in a career with 50.
Blum was named Preseason All-American by Louisville Slugger going into the 2014 campaign. As a freshman in 2012, Blum was named to the OVC All-Freshman Team.
In the classroom, Blum has a 4.0 grade point average as a finance major and has already begun working on his Masters in Business Administration (MBA). Last season he earned third-team CoSIDA Academic All-American honors in addition to earning the OVC Medal of Honor and appearing on the OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll, the Dean’s List and being a Southeast Scholar-Athlete. Blum has earned the OVC Medal of Honor three times and has been CoSIDA Academic All-District twice.
Last year, Blum was honored with the Jewel Award given by Southeast Missouri. The Jewel Award is given annually to the male student-athlete with the highest GPA.
Blum is a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), the Beta Gamma Sigma business fraternity and the Harrison College of Business Finance Student Academic Achievement program. In the community, Blum has been active with the Feed My Starving Children and Read to Succeed programs.