2026 CSC Academic All-District Baseball Team
 
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University baseball team placed five student-athletes on the 2026 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team, the organization announced Tuesday.
 
Gage Gillott, Cole Grady, Michael Kitko, Joey Vanzin and Clay Wiesen 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 GPA 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.
 
Nomination limits per institution are in place for each sport in which the CSC sponsors an academic all-district team. In the sport of softball, each school can nominate a maximum of five student-athletes.
 
Gillott and Kitko are both making their third appearance on the Division II CSC Academic All-District Team while Wiesen is now a two-time honoree with Grady and Vanzin receiving the recognition for the first time.
 
Additionally, Gillott, Grady and Kitko have been selected to advance to the Academic All-America ballot. The CSC Division II Baseball Academic All-America team will be announced June 23.
 
Slippery Rock recently completed its 2026 season with a 30-18 record, for what was the program's third 30-win season in the last five years, while advancing to the PSAC Tournament.
 
A look at the season and career highlights for each of The Rock's selections can be found below.

GAGE GILLOTT
Year: Graduate Student
Major: MBA (Grad) / Biology (Undergrad)
GPA: 4.00 (Grad) / 3.84 (Undergrad)
Position: Outfield / Starting Pitcher
2026 Season: Gillott capped off a brilliant collegiate career at The Rock with another stellar all-around season for 2026. An All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division outfielder, Gillott served as SRU's leadoff hitter and hit .347 with a .469 on-base percentage and .521 slugging percentage along with 47 runs scored, three home runs, 28 RBIs and nine stolen bases. Gillott, who reached base in the final 18 games of his SRU career, ranked 19th in Division II in doubles per game and 32nd in total doubles. As one of the top two-way athletes in the Atlantic Region, Gillott also went 3-3 with a 3.72 ERA, .261 opponent batting average and 37 strikeouts across nine starts (38.2 innings) on the mound. Academically, Gillott is finishing up his MBA after having already graduated summa cum laude as a biology major during his undergrad studies in 2025.

COLE GRADY
Year: Junior
Major: Finance
GPA: 4.00
Position: Starting Pitcher
2026 Season: The second of four Rock players who were 2026 All-PSAC West athletes and CSC Academic All-District choices, Grady made a seamless transition from Glenville State to Slippery Rock in 2026 as he stepped in and became SRU's most consistent and effective starting pitcher over the course of the season. In 10 appearances, including eight starts, Grady went 4-1 with a 3.09 ERA and .223 opponent batting average. He struck out 52 batters over 46.2 innings pitched. In conference games, Grady ranked second in the Western Division in ERA and opponent batting average while his 47 strikeouts in PSAC West play was the best in the division.

MICHAEL KITKO
Year: Senior
Major: Exercise Science
GPA: 3.71
Position: Outfield / Pitcher
2026 Season: Kitko earned American Baseball Coaches Association All-America honors as well as being a consensus All-Atlantic Region (ABCA / D2CCA / NCBWA) and first team All-PSAC West selection after a career-year in which he hit .403 with a .441 on-base percentage and a .585 slugging percentage to go along with 25 runs, six home runs and 44 RBIs. Kitko ranked sixth in the PSAC in batting average, sixth in hits per game (1.36), seventh in hits (64), and 13th in RBI. Academically, The Rock's All-American recently graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in exercise science.

JOEY VANZIN
Year: Junior
Major: Accounting (Leadership minor)
GPA: 3.60
Position: Relief Pitcher
2026 Season: An All-PSAC West closer, Vanzin took over as The Rock's go-to reliever after an early-season injury to preseason All-American Mark Wilbur. Vanzin excelled in the role, finishing out the season by going 4-2 with five saves, a 2.88 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and .232 opponent batting average. Vanzin pitched 40.2 innings across 20 appearances and registered 52 strikeouts while issuing just 10 walks. Vanzin ranked second in the PSAC West in saves and gave up earned runs in just five regular season appearances.

CLAY WIESEN
Year: Senior
Major: Safety Management
GPA: 3.85
Position: Second Base
2026 Season: After missing the early stages of the season due to injury, Wiesen started the final 38 games of the year for The Rock. Arguably the best defensive second baseman in the Atlantic Region, Wiesen combined his excellent work in the field with a 2026 season at the plate that featured a .325/.387/.460 slash line, 26 runs, two home runs, 11 RBIs and three stolen bases. Academically, Wiesen graduated summa cum laude with his bachelor's degree in safety management.





To stay up to date with all that happens at The Rock, follow our official athletic communication accounts on 'X' (formerly Twitter, @Rock_Athletics), Facebook (RockAthletics) and Instagram (RockAthletics).