BASEBALL SNAGS FIVE ON CSC ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT LIST
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The UNLV baseball program saw five of its student-athletes earn spots on the 2024 Academic All-District® Baseball Team, making the jump from one during the 2023 season last year.
Selected by the newly-named organization College Sports Communicators (formerly ‘CoSIDA’), the list recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. To be eligible, student-athletes must hold at least a 3.5 cumulative grade point average in at least their second year as a collegiate athlete and be a starter or a key reserve for their respective teams.
Graduate student Austin Kryszczuk rejoins the prestigious list after collecting the honor in 2023, leading the teams in one of his best seasons at the plate. The Las Vegas native led the Rebels in batting average (.372), runs (59), hits (74), doubles (20), home runs (19) and RBI (75) overall, ranking seventh among all NCAA batters with his RBI per game mark of 1.44. A threat on the base path, he’d pick up All-Mountain West First Team honors with the league’s top spot in RBI while also ranking second in runs, home runs, total bases (155) and slugging percentage (.779).
Junior Austin Cates claims the honor in his first season wearing the Scarlet & Gray, ending the season as one the NCAAs most dangerous arms on the mound. Across 90.1 innings he’d fan 107 batters at the plate with a strikeout, pacing the Mountain West by 14 overall and a First Team spot on the All-Mountain West list. Cates would reach double-digit strikeouts numbers in six of his 14 starts on the mound over the season.
Another local Rebel in Kade Higgins joined the fray in the 2024 list, the junior totaling 15 doubles that was second on the team to his senior in Kryszczuk. He tallied exactly 100 total bases over the course of the season in 194 at bats, totaling 37 free trips to first base on 26 walks and 11 hit-by-pitches. Higgins’ held a .320 batting average that totaled a .948 for his on base and slugging mark, second on the team.
JP Hefft found success in the Rebels’ lineup and the classroom, picking up the award after appearing in 50 games for the team, switching off between second base and the designated hitter. Hefft was the second Rebel to reach 65 or more hits during the season, tying the team lead with three triples as well.
UNLV’s final member of the Academic All-District® Baseball Team was Matthew Maloney, the senior appearing in 24 games during the year. He’d collect three wins and four saves through 37.2 innings of work for the Rebels, including a 2.1-ining outing that shut out seven batters to seal the 4-1 win over Bradley back at the start of the year.
Kryszczuk and Cates are finalists who are part of the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First- and second-team All-America® honorees will be announced in early July. The CSC Academic All-America program separately recognizes football honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.