Northwest Wayne News

The Wayne State University baseball team has received the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Team Academic Excellence Award for the 2025 season. The Warriors achieved a 3.662 team GPA during the 2024-25 academic year, continuing a streak of earning this recognition every year since its introduction in 2016.

This year, the ABCA recognized 440 college and nearly 300 high school programs for academic achievement. Teams nominated for the award needed to have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00 on a 4.0 scale, be led by a head coach who is an ABCA member, and submit nominations before July 18.

"The 2024-2025 academic calendar year was a tremendous experience for our baseball program," said head coach Ryan Kelley. "Every college baseball season delivers a journey full of peaks and valleys, and we were entrenched with adversity, success, challenges, and triumphs that we continue to build from. I applaud our baseball student-athletes for staying disciplined and consistent with their academic routines. Our in-season semester team GPA was potentially the highest in our 85-season history! A true credit to our students by striving to meet academic expectations head on and hungry to deliver amazing results. I would like to extend a genuine and sincere thank you to our student-athletes for their commitment. Additionally, a special thanks to WSU Athletics Academic Advisor Kim Clexton for her unparalleled leadership and resource support. Further, thank you to the several faculty and staff across our great campus for providing an amazing academic experience during our student-athletes' journey toward graduation."

The ABCA has recognized coaches’ and players’ achievements through various awards since its founding in 1945. The association's honors include All-America Teams established in 1949 as well as other awards such as All-Region Awards, Regional & National Coaches of the Year honors, Hall of Fame induction, and ethics awards.

The ABCA serves over 15,000 members representing all U.S. states and dozens of countries worldwide.

Sports Attack sponsors the Team Academic Excellence Award presented by the ABCA each year.