Photo by: Kaylee Kahn
Wildcats Take Home Fifth Consecutive ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award
7/23/2026 1:52:00 PM | Baseball
ABILENE - Abilene Christian baseball was honored for its work on and off the diamond with the 2025-26 Team Academic Excellence Award from the American Baseball Coaches Association, the organization announced this week. It's the fifth consecutive season the Wildcats have been recognized by the ABCA and sixth time in the past seven years.
Programs must register a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 across the 2025-26 academic year to receive the honor. ACU was one of nearly 500 collegiate teams recognized this season. The Wildcats have collected the Team Academic Excellence Award in six of head coach Rick McCarty's eighth seasons at the helm.
Nine ACU ballplayers graduated in May. Twenty Wildcats were named Academic All-Western Athletic Conference this past school year, tying for the most honorees in the WAC. Recipients must possess at least a 3.2 GPA and compete in a minimum of 50% of team contests, or 20% for pitchers.
Five Wildcats earned Academic All-District distinction from College Sports Communicators. Nick Arias, Aidan Coleman, David Jeon, JT Thompson and Evan Whiteaker represented ACU with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.50 while competing in 90% of a team's games or starting at least 66% of games. Pitchers must have made at least 17 appearances or pitched at least 35 innings. It marks the second year in a row that the Wildcats have touted the maximum number of honorees allowed per team.
ACU enters his ninth season under McCarty in 2027 while making its debut in the United Athletic Conference.
Programs must register a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 across the 2025-26 academic year to receive the honor. ACU was one of nearly 500 collegiate teams recognized this season. The Wildcats have collected the Team Academic Excellence Award in six of head coach Rick McCarty's eighth seasons at the helm.
Nine ACU ballplayers graduated in May. Twenty Wildcats were named Academic All-Western Athletic Conference this past school year, tying for the most honorees in the WAC. Recipients must possess at least a 3.2 GPA and compete in a minimum of 50% of team contests, or 20% for pitchers.
Five Wildcats earned Academic All-District distinction from College Sports Communicators. Nick Arias, Aidan Coleman, David Jeon, JT Thompson and Evan Whiteaker represented ACU with a cumulative GPA of at least 3.50 while competing in 90% of a team's games or starting at least 66% of games. Pitchers must have made at least 17 appearances or pitched at least 35 innings. It marks the second year in a row that the Wildcats have touted the maximum number of honorees allowed per team.
ACU enters his ninth season under McCarty in 2027 while making its debut in the United Athletic Conference.
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