Kansas State University Athletics
Baseball Earns ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award
Jul 23, 2025 | Baseball
MANHATTAN, Kan. – The K-State baseball team was honored for its academic success by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), as the Wildcats received the Team Academic Excellence Award for the 2024-25 season.
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The award, established in 2016, recognizes high school and college teams coached by ABCA members that achieve a cumulative team GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale during the academic year. This year, 440 college programs and nearly 300 high school programs were recognized for their academic achievement.
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The Wildcats posted a 3.24 team GPA for the 2024-25 academic year, while four student-athletes – catcher Bear Madliak, outfielder Keegan O'Connor, and pitchers Ty Ruhl and Lincoln Sheffield – earned perfect 4.0 GPAs during the spring semester.
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K-State was one of nine Big 12 schools to earn the award, marking the program's second time receiving the honor and the first since the 2016-17 season.
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The American Baseball Coaches Association 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/Diamond Regional & National Coaches of the Year and several other major awards such as the ABCA Hall of Fame and the Ethics in Coaching Award.
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Under seventh-year head coach Pete Hughes, the Wildcats concluded the 2025 season with an overall record of 32-26, including a record-breaking 17 conference victories. K-State advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year, marking the program's first back-to-back appearances since 2010–11.
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The award, established in 2016, recognizes high school and college teams coached by ABCA members that achieve a cumulative team GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale during the academic year. This year, 440 college programs and nearly 300 high school programs were recognized for their academic achievement.
Â
The Wildcats posted a 3.24 team GPA for the 2024-25 academic year, while four student-athletes – catcher Bear Madliak, outfielder Keegan O'Connor, and pitchers Ty Ruhl and Lincoln Sheffield – earned perfect 4.0 GPAs during the spring semester.
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K-State was one of nine Big 12 schools to earn the award, marking the program's second time receiving the honor and the first since the 2016-17 season.
Â
The American Baseball Coaches Association 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/Diamond Regional & National Coaches of the Year and several other major awards such as the ABCA Hall of Fame and the Ethics in Coaching Award.
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Under seventh-year head coach Pete Hughes, the Wildcats concluded the 2025 season with an overall record of 32-26, including a record-breaking 17 conference victories. K-State advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year, marking the program's first back-to-back appearances since 2010–11.
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– k-statesports.com –
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How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Baseball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
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How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Baseball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
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