Baseball | 7/1/2025 1:15:00 PM
AUSTIN, Texas (pacathletics.org) - Washington & Jefferson College senior pitcher Dante DiMatteo (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) earned a spot on the 2025 NCAA Division III Academic All-America® Baseball Second Team, as chosen by the College Sports Communicators (CSC), which recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom.
DiMatteo becomes the 80th student-athlete in W&J history to earn Academic All-America® status from the College Sports Communicators (formerly known as CoSIDA) since 1978. He is third student-athlete from W&J to earn the honor this season to date, joining seniors Zach Cernuto (Scottdale, Pa./Southmoreland) and Dawson Dietz (Allison Park, Pa./Hampton), who were First Team selections in football.
For the year so far, DiMatteo's selection gives the PAC seven Academic All-America® honors. In addition to the W&J trio, Carnegie Mellon University's Robert Coury (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg), Justin Caputo (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) and Thomas Coury (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) were recognized in football and Grove City College's Emma Herrmann (Hilton, N.Y./Paul V. Moore) earned the distinction in women's soccer in the fall.
DiMatteo is the eighth W&J baseball student-athlete to be named to the Academic All-America® team. The Presidents baseball program has now earned an Academic All-America® selection for the past five seasons, dating back to 2021 when Tyler Horvat '23 began his three-year stint on the Academic All-America list. He joins to ranks of Sam Mann '07, Pat Kennedy '11 and Horvat as Second Team selections.
DiMatteo, a two-time CSC Academic All-District recipient, concluded his tenure at W&J with a 3.78 cumulative grade-point average as an accounting major. DiMatteo is a multi-time Beta Scholar, seven-time Dean's List recipient, PAC Spring Academic Honor Roll recipient and a Member of Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society.
DiMatteo wrapped a historic campaign for the Presidents this season recently being named a 2025 Division III D3baseball.com First Team All-American and an American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings Third Team All-American. DiMatteo is the first W&J baseball player to earn First Team All-America honors since Tyler Horvat '23 in 2023. He cements himself as one of the greats in W&J baseball history as the 10th player and the seventh pitcher to earn All-America honors in a Presidents uniform.
DiMatteo was also recently announced as D3baseball.com Region 7 Pitcher of the Year, the first since Henry Litman '22 during the 2021 season. He also received All-Region First Team honors (Region 7) from D3baseball.com and ABCA/Rawlings.
The Presidents' ace followed the same trajectory as Litman, collecting the Presidents' Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year award. DiMatteo is W&J's first PAC Pitcher of the Year since Horvat '23 in 2023 and the 10th all-time to be awarded the honor in program history.
The senior right-handed pitcher is now a three-time All-PAC selection, making his first appearance on First Team. He finished 9-0 with a 0.83 earned run average and 68 strikeouts in 65.1 innings on the season. The starting battery for the Presidents holds the second-best ERA in all NCAA Divisions (I, II, III). DiMatteo held opposing batters to a .200 batting average with six earned runs given up all season. He collected two PAC Pitcher of the Week honors as well as a PAC All-Tournament laurels in his final campaign.
DiMatteo compiled one of the best statistical seasons for a W&J pitcher in program history this season. The senior hurler topped the W&J record books in career appearances with 61 throughout his career, lowest single-season ERA (Min. 40 innings pitched) with a 0.83 mark and added a save to his W&J career saves record with 16. DiMatteo also moved to second all-time in career strikeouts with 213, second only to Sam Mann '07 who had 250.
DiMatteo also holds the 10th most wins in program history with a nearly perfect 19-1 career record. His only recorded career loss came during the 2024 season. Following this season, DiMatteo's 9-0 record moved him to a tie for sixth in the W&J baseball record book in single season wins.
The Division III Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structure to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2024-25 Division III Academic All-America® program.
To be eligible for the award, nominated and voted upon by Athletic Communication professionals, student-athletes must maintain a cumulative 3.50 GPA or higher and must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution.
Contributed by W&J Sports Information