2026 ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award Winners
 
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - The Slippery Rock University baseball team was the recipient of the 2026 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Team Academic Excellence Award, the organization announced Wednesday.
 
To be eligible for the ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award a program must have maintained a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 on a 4.0 scale for the 2025-26 academic year. Slippery Rock, which has posted a team GPA of at least 3.00 in each of the last 14 academic years, closed 2025-26 with a 14-year program high GPA of 3.390.
 
SRU was one of six programs in the 16-team PSAC to obtain the award - along with California (Pa.), East Stroudsburg, Gannon, Seton Hill and West Chester - as well as one of 12 teams in the Atlantic Region to achieve the honor. Overall, 91 Division II teams were bestowed with the ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award.
 
The Rock had 25 student-athletes – 69.4 percent of its entire roster - maintain a GPA of at least 3.25 last year including Max Bernadowski, Morgen Billotte, Evan Brown, Brandon Butler, Michael Cahill, Darryn Callahan, Joe Conrad, Aari Fox, Gage Gillott, Cole Grady, Gary Gubbings III, Landon Hamer, Zachary Hare, Michael Kitko, Zack Kurkey, Owen Malak, Treston Nemeth, Jake Robinson, Tyler Slone, Dylan Smith, Joey Vanzin, Kyle Warnsman, Clay Wiesen, Mark Wilbur and Carter Wilson.  
 
Gillott, Grady, Warnsman and Wilson all carry perfect 4.00 GPAs while Gillott, Grady, Kitko, Vanzin and Wiesen were named to the CSC Academic All-District Team.
 
On the field, Slippery Rock 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. The 30 wins secured the 21st 30-win campaign under head coach Jeff Messer and represented the third highest victory total by the program over the last 17 years.
 
The ABCA has a long tradition of recognizing the achievements of baseball coaches and student-athletes. The ABCA/Rawlings All-America Teams are the nation's oldest, founded in 1949, and the ABCA's awards program also includes the ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Awards, the ABCA/ATEC Regional & National Coaches of the Year and several other major awards such as the ABCA Hall of Fame and the Dave Keilitz Ethics in Coaching Award.




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