Junior outfielder Brian McKinsey of the Rochester baseball team has been selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) as a 2021 Division III 1st Team Academic All-District selection in District III.
 
District III encompasses all colleges in New York State in NCAA Division III, and overall a total of 11 players were selected from the region, two pitchers, one catcher, four infielders, three outfielders and one designated hitter.
 
The 1st Team honor now moves McKinsey onto the ballot for national Academic All-America consideration, with those selections being released by CoSIDA later this month.
 
Academically, McKinsey carries a 3.91 cumulative grade point average through his junior year, double-majoring in Political Science and Business. He received a Dean's Scholarship to attend UR and is a member of the Political Science Honors Program, an award given to the eight highest cumulative GPA Political Science students at the college.
 
McKinsey also has been a teacher's assistant for multiple classes and is conducting research with Professor Gerald Gamm regarding legislation roll calls in state legislatures. Earlier this year he was named a Provost Circle Scholar, awarded to the eleven junior student-athletes at Rochester with the highest grade point averages.
 
Additionally, McKinsey has volunteered with the Habitat for Humanity in Charleston, South Carolina for the last four years and he was selected to the Liberty League All-Academic team for the second straight year in 2021.
 
McKinsey, a native of Concord, North Carolina, was one of three Yellowjackets to play in all 34 games on the diamond this season. In those contests, the junior hit .321 for the season, going 34-for-106 at the plate. He added 26 runs scored, 6 doubles, 1 home run and 19 RBI. McKinsey added five stolen bases and walked 13 times while being hit by a pitch 11 times, leading to a .439 on-base percentage. He also was stellar defensively, committing only one error in 65 chances, equating to a .985 fielding percentage.
 
This season he had 10 multi-hit games and had a 10-game hitting streak. He set new career-highs in every statistical category in 2021 and ranked first in the Liberty League in sacrifice bunts (5) and was second in hit by pitches.
 
McKinsey helped the Yellowjackets to their second straight Liberty League title in 2021, earning back-to-back trips (2019 and 2021) to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time in school history. UR finished the 2021 season with a 24-10 record overall.