Contact: Nicholas Osterloo, Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5324

2026 CSC Academic All-District Selections - Baseball

June 2, 2026 - A program record five North Central College baseball players were named College Sports Communicators Academic All-District selections Tuesday for their performance in the classroom and on the field, as Payton Diaz, Caleb Smith, Luke Wallace, Parker Wyatt and Yuhki Yamada earned the honor.

Nominated by members of College Sports Communicators, student-athletes must be sophomores academically and athletically and hold a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.50. Position players must appear in at least 90 percent of their team's games or start at least 66 percent, while pitchers must record at least 17 appearances or 35 innings pitched.

Diaz, a First Team All-College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin selection and two-time All-Region honoree last week, led the Cardinals with 42 strikeouts and four wins over 53.0 innings pitched. He also hit .361 with 38 runs, 31 RBI, 22 walks, 13 doubles and three home runs.

Smith hit .279 in his first season with the Cardinals, totaling 25 runs, 19 RBI, 22 walks, eight stolen bases, six doubles, three home runs and a triple over 34 games. Wallace, also in his first year with North Central, hit .329 with 51 runs, 25 walks, 23 RBI, 14 doubles, 14 hit-by-pitches, seven stolen bases, two home runs and a triple.

Wyatt, now a two-time Academic All-District selection, earned two All-Region honors last week. He led the Cardinals with 59 hits, 58 RBI and 17 doubles while hitting .369 with 46 runs, 20 walks, eight home runs and three triples. Yamada, a Second Team All-CCIW selection, hit .351 over 37 games with 51 runs, 26 RBI, 22 walks, 15 stolen bases, three doubles, three triples and two home runs.

Diaz and Wyatt advance to the CSC Academic All-America ballot, which will be announced on Tuesday, June 23.