Tyler Stovall

Classroom

A personal financial planning major, Stovall has a 3.81 grade-point average and was a 2007 Academic All-Mid-American Conference honoree as well as a second-team Academic All-America honoree and a first-team Academic All-District athlete. In addition, he was ranked No. 5 among nearly 2,000 students in the Barron’s Challenge stock-picking contest at the halfway point in December of 2007. He is a member of the Golden Key Honors Society as well as the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. He has been named to the dean’s list all seven semesters at CMU and was named MAC Scholar athlete of the week on March 14, 2007. He hopes to further his education in law school and become a personal financial advisor for athletes.

Character

Stovall wrote a short essay that he feels exemplifies his character: My career at Central Michigan University sums up my ability to work hard and never give up. My freshman year looked bright, as my coaches did not feel that I needed to be redshirted and that I would indeed play as a true freshman. They put their trust in me and I started our first four conference games that year at the catcher position. Unfortunately we went 0-4 in those games and I did not start another conference game the rest of the year. I ended up starting a total of 21 of our 60 games that year, batting a lowly .260 for the season. Disappointed with the direction the season had taken, I decided to live with a host family and play baseball in Toledo, Ohio for a team in the Great Lakes Collegiate Baseball League. After my first game in Toledo I felt terribly ill and went back home to see a doctor. There I found out that I had mononucleosis and would have to spend the entire summer off the field and resting. When I arrived back to school I felt that I was significantly behind all my of teammates, and I felt like I couldn’t quite catch up to them in time. Despite my best efforts I saw my playing time my sophomore year diminish even farther than it had my freshman year, seeing only 16 starts the entire season. This was the year that truly tested my character. I had to make a decision: do I accept things the way they are, or do I work to change them. At the end of that season I made a conscious decision to never ride the bench again. My coach wanted me to get some work in the outfield in the off season because we had lost our starting right fielder. I moved down to North Carolina to play on a team down there and work on my skills. When I returned to school the following fall I was the most prepared I had ever been for a season. It was my never-say-die attitude and hard work that carried me through the lowest of my lows and allowed me to reach my potential. I had a terrific junior year, winning conference player of the year honors and being named both an academic and athletic all-American.

Community

Stovall has participated in numerous community service projects throughout his time at CMU. He has participated in multiple Holiday Food Drives from 2005-08, collecting canned goods for donation to the Red Cross Food Pantry. He also participated in the Special Olympics Canoe Trip in 2008, as well as the 2006 Christmas Outreach Program in 2006, where he collected clothing donations to give to those less fortunate. Stovall has also participated in numerous camps and clinics at CMU, helping teach the local youth the game of baseball.

Competition

Collegiate Baseball magazine and the American Baseball Coaches Association tabbed Stovall as a 2008 preseason third-team All-American following his dominating 2007 campaign. The outfielder/catcher was named Mid-American Conference Player of the Year in 2007, after leading the conference in batting average (.391), hits (88) and runs batted in (59), tied for first in runs scored (58) and ranked second in stolen bases (20). Stovall was also named first-team All-MAC, as well third-team All-American by both the ABCA and Collegiate Baseball. He posted a 21-game hitting streak last season, picking up 44 hits during the streak and knocking in 24 runs.