TU Baseball Boasts NAIA-Best Three CSC Academic All-Americans
AUSTIN, Texas – Mason David, Kaleb Kolpien and Jake Boyer were all named to 2025 Academic All-America baseball teams on Tuesday, as selected by College Sports Communicators.
Outgoing seniors David and Kolpien both were part of 11 NAIA First-Team Academic All-Americans, while Boyer was named to the Second Team. Taylor led all NAIA baseball programs with three representatives among the 22 total Academic All-Americans.
David, who made a second consecutive appearance on the First Team Academic All-America list, graduated with a 3.99 GPA as a biology major. On the diamond, David followed up his 2024 All-American and Crossroads League Player of the Year campaign with an even better season at the plate, batting .367 with 81 hits, 12 homers, 55 RBIs and scoring a school-record 79 runs. He finishes his career as a three-time All-Crossroads League honoree and as the program's all-time leader in runs scored.
Kolpien returned to CSC Academic All-America status after being named to the Second Team in 2023. The 2025 Second-Team NAIA All-American produced his finest season in leading the Trojans to a fourth straight NAIA Opening Round appearance, tying his own program record of 98 hits while becoming the only Trojan ever to surpass 300 career hits. Kolpien, who finalized his management studies with a 3.72 GPA, garnered the title of Crossroads League Player of the Year in 2025 after leading the league in hits, batting average and RBIs, and finishing second in extra-base knocks with 15 doubles and 15 homers.
Boyer was one of 11 Second-Team Academic All-America baseball players in the NAIA, as the junior had a First-Team All-Crossroads League season on the mound while maintaining a 3.84 GPA as a finance major. Boyer has been rock-solid as a combo-starter and reliever throughout his career with Taylor, working to a 2.79 ERA over 103.1 innings. That includes a remarkable 2025 season in which he posted 60 strikeouts, a 1.01 WHIP and 2.45 ERA while earning eight wins and four saves.
Taylor student-athletes have combined for an NAIA-best 145 CSC Academic All-American honors in school history, with 143 of those awards coming since 2010. Of those 143 honors, 68 are of the First-Team variety. The 2024-2025 year has seen Taylor athletics pick up six total Academic All-American selections.
The TU baseball program has accounted for 20 Academic All-Americans all-time, including nine First-Team selections. The trio of honorees from 2025 ties the most Taylor baseball has had in a single season, a mark it also achieved in 2018.
The CSC Academic All-America distinction is designed to recognize student-athletes for outstanding achievements in the classroom and on the diamond. To receive the honor, an athlete must have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.50 or higher on a 4.0 scale, must have achieved sophomore status academically and must have played in 90 percent of his team's games, made 66 percent of starts or, for pitchers, thrown 25-plus innings or made 17 appearances.
Student-athletes are nominated for the award by their institution's Sports Information Department and voted on by CSC members.