Thirty from PAC Named to 2026 CSC Academic All-District® Baseball Team

Baseball | 6/9/2026 11:00:00 AM

TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - The College Sports Communicators (CSC) 2026 Academic All-District® Baseball Team recently announced featured 30 student-athletes from Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) programs.

The Academic All-District® Baseball Teams recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the diamond and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes baseball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.

Academic All-District® honorees were considered for advancement to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. Student-athletes selected as CSC Academic All-America® finalists are denoted with an asterisk and will advance to the national ballot to be voted on by CSC members. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced June 23rd, 2026

To be eligible for CSC Academic All-District®, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically, hold a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or higher and must compete in 90 percent of the institution's games played OR must start in at least 66 percent of the institution's games. For pitchers, a student-athlete must have made at least 17 appearances OR pitched 35 innings.

A pair of PAC programs had five players each on the team to lead the conference, including Hiram College and Westminster College. Allegheny College, Thiel College and PAC champion Washington & Jefferson College placed four apiece on the list, while Bethany College had three players recognized. With two each on the team was Geneva College and Grove City College and Waynesburg University had one to round out the PAC representation. 

Three of the PAC's 30 selected to the Academic All-District® Baseball Team will be on the national ballot for Academic All-America® consideration. Both of Grove City's players in juniors Caleb Backos and David Chandler will be on the national ballot and sophomore Tom Rook from Westminster will be up for Academic All-America® honors. 

In addition to their academic success, many of those honored were also standouts on the diamond. A total of 13 were recognized with All-PAC accolades this year, while four were named to the PAC Sportsmanship Team.

The complete list of student-athletes from the PAC to earn Academic All-District® laurels is below.

 
PAC Baseball Academic All-District® honorees
* = CSC Academic All-America® finalist (3)
1 = First Team All-PAC / 2 = Second Team / HM = Honorable Mention / S = Sportsmanship Team
Name School Yr. Hometown/High School
Nick Banez (HM) Allegheny Sr. Edmonds, Wash./Meadowdale
Liam Irving (HM) Allegheny So. Olney, Md./Sherwood
Noah Philson (2) Allegheny So. Greenville, Pa./Greenville
Ben Shields (2) Allegheny Jr. Charleroi, Pa./Charleroi
Gian DeGenova (2) Bethany Jr. Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park
Jaden Nestor-Fox (2) Bethany Sr. Vermillion, Ohio/Vermillion
Billy Sloan Bethany So. North Jackson, Ohio/Jackson-Milton
Kirk Bearjar (1) Geneva Sr. Summerhill, Pa./Forest Hills
Marco Chenet Geneva So. Coraopolis, Pa./Moon
Caleb Backos* (HM) Grove City Jr. Troy, Mich./Bloomfield Christian
David Chandler* (1) Grove City Jr. Leesburg, Va./St. John's
Nicolas Chernitsky (HM) Hiram Jr. Elyria, Ohio/Elyria
Logan Gallentine Hiram Sr. North Canton, Ohio/Hoover
Ethan Ryan (S) Hiram Jr. Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial
Luke Snider Hiram So. Mentor, Ohio/Lake Catholic
Ben Yoder Hiram Sr. Alliance, Ohio/Marlington
Colton Brightwell Thiel Sr. Eighty Four, Pa./Bentworth
Kolten Kruszewski Thiel Jr. Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep
Joey Schimizzi Thiel Jr. Willowick, Ohio/Willoughby South
Cole Sherwin (S) Thiel Sr. Karns City, Pa./Karns City
Jack Anderson (HM) W&J Jr. Pittsburgh, Pa./ Plum
Bobby Budacki W&J Jr. New Brighton, Pa./New Brighton
Andrew Miko (2) W&J Jr. Portage, Pa./Portage
Chase Perry W&J Sr. Ponte Vedra, Fla./Nease
Kaden Flambard (S) Waynesburg So. Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park
Jon Albers Westminster Jr. Corry, Pa./Corry
Nate Demchak (S) Westminster Jr. Monroeville, Pa./Gateway
Parker Lyons Westminster Jr. Rochester, Pa./Rochester
Quinn Marquis Westminster Jr. Hinckley, Ohio/Highland
Tom Rook* (1) Westminster So. Clarence Center, N.Y./Clarence