MEDFORD, MA (June 2, 2026) - Five Tufts University players have earned spots on the 2025-26 Academic All-District® Baseball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators (CSC). The award recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom.
The Jumbos receiving the honor are 2026 Tufts graduates
Cole Donato,
Owen McKiernan and
Malcolm Whitfield, and rising seniors
Mark Herlihy and
Mitchell Hwang. All are first-time recipients of this award.
To be nominated, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 or better (on a 4.0 scale) at his current institution. Nominated athletes must have competed in 90 percent of the institution's games played or started at least 66 percent of the institution's contests. For pitchers, at least 17 appearances or 35 innings pitched are required.
Donato (biomedical engineering degree), McKiernan (economics) and Whitfield (economics) graduated from Tufts on May 17, 2026. Herlihy is an economics major and Hwang majors in biology. All five players had key roles on head coach
Bryan Stark's Tufts team that won 31 games, captured the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) Championship and hosted an NCAA Regional at Sol Gittleman Park.
The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes baseball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA. Select Academic All-District® recipients advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced on June 23, 2026.
See the full College Sports Communicators 2025-26 Academic All-District® Baseball Teams
HERE (PDF).
--JUMBOS--
