2025 CSC Academic All-District Baseball Team
 
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University baseball team placed five student-athletes on the 2025 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team, the organization announced Tuesday.
 
Brandon Butler, Gage Gillott, Michael Kitko, Clay Wiesen and Mark Wilbur all had their academic prowess as well as their play on the field recognized with CSC Academic All-District Team recognition.
 
In order to be eligible to earn CSC Academic All-District recognition, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically and own a cumulative grade point average above 3.50 while having significant athletic credentials.
 
Position players must have competed in 90 percent of their institution's total games or started in at least 66 percent of the institution's total games. For pitchers, eligible nominees needed to have pitched at least 35 innings or appeared in 17 games.
 
Gillott and Kitko are both making their second appearance on the Division II CSC Academic All-District Team while Butler, Wiesen and Wilbur are first-time honorees. Additionally, Gillott and Wilbur have been selected to advance to the Academic All-America ballot. The CSC Division II Baseball Academic All-America team will be announced July 1.
 
Slippery Rock recently completed its 2025 season with a 31-19 overall record. The Rock qualified for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament for a third consecutive year after going 16-12 in the PSAC West. The 31 wins secured the 20th 30-win campaign under head coach Jeff Messer and represented the second highest victory total by the program over the last 16 years.
 
A look at the season and career highlights for each of The Rock's selections can be found below.
 
BRANDON BUTLER
Year: Sophomore
Major: Safety Management (Business minor)
GPA: 3.66
Position: Third Base
2025 Season: Butler earned second team All-PSAC West honors after spending his sophomore season starting 45 games between third base (25), designated hitter (13) and the corner outfield (seven). He hit .329 with 29 runs, one home run, 18 RBIs and a .419 on-base percentage. One of the many highlights of Butler's season came in The Rock's April 29 victory over Point Park when he became the first Rock athlete in 16 years to hit for the cycle.
 
GAGE GILLOTT
Year: Redshirt Junior
Major: Biology
GPA: 3.84
Position: Outfield / Starting Pitcher
2025 Season: After garnering first team All-PSAC West honors, Gillott was named a consensus All-Atlantic Region honoree (ABCA / NCBWA / D2CCA) before becoming just the fifth player in program history to earn All-America accolades in multiple years following an honorable mention citation by the D2CCA.
 
The 2025 season saw Gillott split his time at the plate between hitting from the leadoff and cleanup spots in The Rock's batting order while playing left field. In 41 starts, Gillott hit .349 with a .439 on-base percentage and a .503 slugging percentage while scoring 29 runs with four home runs, 25 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. On the mound, Gillott pitched 37 innings across eight starts on the way to going 4-3 with a 3.16 ERA, 28 strikeouts and a .201 opponent batting average. He held the opposition to two runs or less in seven of his eight starts.
 
MICHAEL KITKO
Year: Junior
Major: Exercise Science
GPA: 3.69
Position: Outfield / Relief Pitcher
2025 Season: Another of The Rock's two-way standouts, Kitko shined both as an outfielder as well as coming out of SRU's bullpen. In 49 starts in the field, Kitko compiled a .398 on-base percentage while hitting .293 with 26 runs, two home runs, 29 RBIs and a team-high tying 10 doubles. He ranked third in the country in the NCAA's "Toughest to Strikeout" stat with just one strikeout every 26.2 at-bats. Kitko also made eight appearances on the mound, producing a 2-0 record with three saves and a 1.08 ERA over 16.2 innings pitched. He struck out 20 batters while issuing just six walks and limiting opponents to a .158 batting average.
 
CLAY WIESEN
Year: Junior
Major: Safety Management
GPA: 3.73
Position: Second Base
2025 Season: A transfer from Georgia Highlands College and Youngstown State University, Wiesen was the only Rock player to start all 50 games in 2025. SRU's first-year second baseman hit .289 with a .345 on-base percentage to go with 19 runs, 10 doubles (tied for the team lead), 23 RBIs and nine stolen bases in addition to a near flawless .995 fielding percentage. Other accolades in his first season with SRU included tying for the team lead in multi-RBI games (seven) and ranking third in multi-hit games (13). He ranked 20th in the country in the NCAA's "Toughest to Strikeout" stat with just one strikeout every 15.7 at-bats.
 
MARK WILBUR
Year: Senior
Major: Interdisciplinary Programs
GPA: 3.69
Position: Relief Pitcher
2025 Season: The Rock's veteran reliever was great out of SRU's bullpen in 2025. Wilbur made a team-high 18 appearances (17 relief / 1 start). Across 42 innings, Wilbur went 2-2 with six saves and a 1.93 ERA. He limited the opposition to a .192 batting average while striking out 52 batters and allowing just 10 walks. Wilbur, who will leave The Rock fourth in program history for saves in a career and 20th in total appearances, ranked third in the PSAC West this year for saves while ranking seventh in the division in strikeouts.  





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