Paolini Named Third Team All-American by Baseball America 6/16/2011 8:52:00 PM Siena Sports Information Another day, another award. Make that two awards. On a normal day, being named First Team All Region would be story enough for a Siena student athlete, but Dan Paolini was not the typical Siena student athlete. The former Saints' second baseman was named a Third Team All American by Baseball America, just hours before the announcement came that he had also secured First Team All Region status.Last year Paolini became the first Siena student athlete in the Division I era named to be named to an All American team in any sport when Collegiate Baseball named him to its Second Team. Now he has done it twice. The Collegiate Baseball and NCAA All American teams will be released later this month.Paolini was one of just four of the 48 student athletes recognized by Baseball America from the Northeast, joining Connecticut's George Springer and Matt Barnes, and St. John's shortstop Joe Panik were the others.Paolini finished his junior season with a .380 career batting average and 56 home runs, both program records. It was the 56 long balls in just three seasons that earned him national recognition as one of the top power hitters in all of college baseball.Paolini was named a Second Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball in 2010 after leading the nation with .49 home runs per game, becoming the only Siena student athlete ever to be tabbed to an All American Team at the Division I level. He was selected MAAC Rookie of the Year as a freshman, and MAAC Player of the Year as a sophomore and junior. This year, he helped the Saints reach the MAAC title game, belting 19 home runs and breaking his own single-season RBI record with 67.Paolini was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 10th Round of the Major League Baseball draft and has since signed a contract with the franchise. He will begin his professional career with the Pulaski (Va.) Mariners on June 21.