Grade earns second ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove honor

NAIA Release

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Bellevue University third baseman Nick Grade (Kennewick, Wash.) was honored today by the NAIA-Baseball Coaches Association All-America Committee on the ABCA/Rawlings-NAIA Gold Glove Team. It marked the second straight year Grade has earned the prestigious honor.

Grade earned second-team all-NSAA, NSAA Gold Glove (3B), and Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete recognition this season. He registered a .961 fielding percentage in 127 chances at third, helping turn seven double plays. Grade appeared in 51 of 53 games, hitting .275 with a .746 OPS. Grade totaled 10 extra-base hits, including four home runs, 32 RBIs, and 36 runs scored. He recorded 12 multi-hit and eight multi-RBI games. 

This was the 17th season of the award, which started in 2007, in which nine players were chosen based on their defensive prowess. There was no team selected during the 2020 season.

Nine different schools were represented on this year's team.

Grade is the seventh different Bruin – and ninth overall selection – to be recognized with an NAIA Gold Glove. He is the seventh Bruin to receive the honor in the past eight seasons. He joins Brett Chamberlain (C, 2009), Jake Browne (C, 2016 and 2017), Matt Evans (3B, 2018), Cody Banks (2B, 2021), Alec Ackerman (SS, 2022), and Conner Barnett (RF, 2022) as Bruins to have won the award.

Grade is just the seventh NAIA athlete to earn the award twice. 

Bellevue finished the 2024 season with a 39-14 overall record, going 21-2 in NSAA play to capture both the regular season and tournament titles. The Bruins, who spent the entire season ranked inside the top 20 in the NAIA Coaches' Poll, made their 26th appearance in the NAIA National Tournament when they played in the Opening Round – Williamsburg Bracket.

2024 ABCA/Rawlings-NAIA Gold Glove Team