Baseball | 7/23/2026 12:00:00 PM

GREENSBORO, N.C. (pacathletics.org) – Seven Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) baseball programs were among those honored when the 2026 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Team Academic Excellence Awards, presented by Sports Attack, were announced July 22nd.

Teams from every level of college and high school baseball were honored with this year's award, which highlights programs coached by ABCA members that posted a GPA of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale for the entire 2025-26 academic year.

The seven teams from the PAC to earn the honor included Allegheny College; Chatham University; Franciscan University; Geneva College; Thiel College; Waynesburg University and Westminster College.

This year's award marks 11 consecutive seasons Thiel, under head coach Joe Schaly, has been recognized by the ABCA, while head coach Patrick Riley's Westminster program has earned the Academic Excellence Award five years in a row.

Chatham, led by head coach Nic Rush, has now been recognized four straight years. This is the third honor overall and second consecutive for Allegheny and head coach Brandon Crum, while head coach Michael Impellittiere and Waynesburg collected their second straight ABCA recognition.

This season is the first ABCA Academic Excellence Award for Franciscan and Geneva since 2023-24. Overall, however, this is the fifth time head coach Rick Carver's Franciscan program has been recognized and third time for Geneva and head coach Alan Sumner. 

This year, nearly 500 college programs and more than 320 high school programs were recognized for their outstanding academic achievement, as the ABCA continued its long tradition of recognizing the achievements of baseball coaches and student-athletes.