By Jayson Henderson

The Kansas State baseball team received the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Team Academic Excellence Award for the 2024-25 season. The award honors teams with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher during the academic year.

The Wildcats posted a 3.24 team GPA, with four players—catcher Bear Madliak, outfielder Keegan O’Connor, and pitchers Ty Ruhl and Lincoln Sheffield—earning perfect 4.0 GPAs in the spring semester.

K-State was one of nine Big 12 schools to receive the honor and marked the program’s second time earning the award, the first since the 2016-17 season.

Under seventh-year head coach Pete Hughes, the Wildcats finished the season 32-26 with a program-record 17 conference wins. K-State also made its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, the first back-to-back bids since 2010-11.

The ABCA award highlights the team’s success both on the field and in the classroom.