CLEVELAND – The Mid-American Conference has announced the 2023 Baseball Academic All-MAC Team, with Western Michigan totaling 15 honorees, the second-highest total in the conference. This marks the fourth straight season the Broncos have placed double-digit student-athletes on the Academic All-MAC Team. A total of 111 baseball student-athletes were honored across the MAC, with WMU's Greg Budig and Luke Thelen accounting for two of the league's four perfect 4.0 GPA's.
 
The Academic All-MAC honor is for student-athletes who excel in both athletics and academics. To qualify, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport.
 
Jimmy Allen • Senior • Finance • 3.27
Hit .300 for the season and ranked sixth in the MAC with a .368 average in conference games on the way to a Second Team All-Conference selection. Ranked second on the Broncos in hits (61) and doubles (15).
 
Hayden Berg • Junior • Sport Management • 3.57
Sported a 4.47 ERA and posted a team-high four saves to earn the team's Relief Pitcher of the Year award. In conference play, posted a 3.13 ERA and .212 opposing batting average, both of which were seventh-best in the league.  
 
Greg Budig • Junior • Entrepreneurship • 4.00
Started 46 games behind the plate and set career highs in runs scored (22), hits (33), doubles (10), home runs (4), RBIs (21) and walks (21). Threw out 19 runners trying to steal, fourth-most in the MAC.
 
Nick Crandell • Junior • Exercise Science • 3.68
Made a total of 18 appearances out of the WMU bullpen. Recorded the final two outs of a 10-6 win over Bowling Green on April 22 as a part of a Western Michigan series sweep.   
 
Gavin Doyle • Senior • Business Administration (MBA) • 3.58
Hit .290 and led the team in doubles with 17, tied for seventh-most in the conference. Ranked second on the Broncos in both home runs (8) and RBIs (41).   
 
Jake Gernon • Redshirt Sophomore • Sport Management • 3.76
Made 21 appearances, covering 21.0 innings out of the bullpen. Picked up wins against Akron and Bowling Green.   
 
Ethan Houghtaling • Sophomore • Pre-Business • 3.81
Made 10 appearances, including six starts, covering 18.2 innings. Worked a career-high 5.1 innings and piled up a career-high six strikeouts in a win over Bucknell on March 5.   
 
Brady Miller • Redshirt Junior • Business Administration (MBA) • 3.58
Earned a Second Team All-MAC selection after leading the Broncos in innings pitched (89.0), strikeouts (89) and wins (7). His 89.0 innings pitched were second-most in the league, and seven wins in conference play were tied for the most in the MAC.
 
Will Morrison • Redshirt Junior • Business Administration (MBA) • 3.71
Batted .286 for the season and tied for second on the Broncos with 40 runs scored. Was hit by a pitch 20 times, second-most in the conference, and was one of six players in the MAC to record a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage.   
 
Dylan Nevar • Redshirt Sophomore • Electrical Engineering • 3.98
Hit .263 for the season, drove in 40 runs, third-most on the team, and launched a pair of home runs, both of which were grand slams. Of his 40 RBIs, 30 came in MAC play, which tied for fifth-most in the league.
 
Joe Shapiro • Redshirt Sophomore • Accountancy • 3.93
Made a team-high 24 appearances on the mound, including a pair of starts, covering a total of 31.2 innings. Had a string of six straight outings (9.2 innings) without allowing an earned run starting on March 25 at #20 Iowa.   
 
Cade Sullivan • Junior • Finance • 3.54
Set the WMU single-season record with 18 home runs. Also led WMU in batting average (.306), hits (64), runs scored (53), RBIs (59) and slugging percentage (.617) on the way to a Second Team All-MAC selection and unanimous Team MVP honors.   
 
Drew Szczepaniak • Redshirt Junior • Criminal Justice • 3.20
Pitched in 13 games, including three starts, covering 16.1 innings and totaling 12 strikeouts. Recorded the final out on April 30 at Toledo to earn his first collegiate save and seal a Western Michigan series sweep of the Rockets.   
 
Luke Thelen • Redshirt Sophomore • Accountancy • 4.00
Made a total of 12 appearances, including 10 starts, and pitched 37.1 innings. Finished fourth on the Broncos with 42 strikeouts, and racked up a career-high nine on April 19 at Notre Dame.
 
Ryan Watt • Redshirt Sophomore • Marketing • 3.89
Appeared in 15 games out of the bullpen and logged 14.1 innings. Did not allow a run or a hit and racked up seven strikeouts over his final four outings (6.0 innings) of the season.