GREENSBORO, NC – The Francis Marion University baseball team was the recipient of the 2026 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Team Academic Excellence Award, the organization announced Wednesday.

To be eligible for the ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award, a program must have maintained a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 on a 4.0 scale for the academic year. Francis Marion earned the accolade for a consecutive year and closed 2025-26 with a GPA of 3.061.

FMU was the only program in the 14-team Conference Carolinas to obtain the award – as well as one of just 10 teams in the Southeast Region to achieve the honor. Overall, 91 Division II teams were presented with the ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award.

The Patriots had 21 student-athletes maintain a GPA of at least 3.25 last year, including Charlie Bonds, Zander Buchan, Jackson Campbell, Cole Cozzolino, Zach Doorlag, Roman Edwards, Jake Hardee, Robbie Jordan, Hunter Looper, John Lupienski, Jackson Madden, Evan Matile, Adrian Nina, Riley Orr, Aydin Palmer, Davis Phillips, Owen Powell, Tyler Skeen, Tripp Triplett, Brandon Vargas, and Dariel Villaran Goundis.

Bonds and Triplett each carried a perfect 4.00 GPA.

On the field, Francis Marion set a school record for wins in 2026 after finishing with a 46-14 record under second-year head coach Jeff Jefferson. The Patriots ranked seventh nationally in the final ABCA and D2 Baseball polls after a deep postseason run that included their first-ever trip to Super Regionals. FMU achieved back-to-back 40-win seasons for the first time since 2011-12.

The ABCA has a long tradition of recognizing the achievements of baseball coaches and student-athletes. The ABCA/Rawlings All-America Teams are the nation's oldest, founded in 1949, and the ABCA's awards program also includes the ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Awards, the ABCA/ATEC Regional & National Coaches of the Year and several other major awards such as the ABCA Hall of Fame and the Dave Keilitz Ethics in Coaching Award.