KALAMAZOO, Mich. – For the fourth consecutive year, five members of the Western Michigan baseball team have been named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team®. Center fielder Tanner Mally and shortstop Michael Maloney earned the honor for the second year in a row, while right-handed pitchers Sam Carlisle and Ricky Kidd, as well as second baseman Drew Howard, were all first-time selections.    
 
An Advertising & Promotion major with a 3.71 GPA, Mally has led all of NCAA Division I in batting average since March, ending the campaign with a .446 mark, Western Michigan's highest batting average over a full season since 1965. The junior ranks second nationally with a .554 on-base percentage and is also among the national leaders in total hits, with a WMU single-season record 87. Mally was an All-MAC First Team selection, an All-MAC Defensive Team honoree for the second straight year, a Midseason All-American and a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Trophy.
 
Maloney owns a 3.60 GPA as he pursues an MBA after graduating from WMU with a bachelor's degree in Sport Management. He was voted the co-MAC Defensive Player of the Year, an All-MAC First Team selection and semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award after posting a .977 fielding percentage for a Western Michigan defense which was second in the league and 33rd in the nation with a .978 fielding percentage. Offensively, he hit .354 with a .466 on-base percentage, tied for the team lead with six home runs and led the Broncos with 55 RBIs, tied for eighth-most in the conference.
 
Also pursuing an MBA at Western Michigan, Kidd currently has a 4.00 GPA. The Michigan transfer turned into an anchor in the Bronco rotation this spring, sporting an 8-1 record and 4.08 ERA in his team-leading 79.1 innings, fifth-most in the conference. An All-MAC First Team selection, the right-hander was dominant in conference play, going 7-0 and tying for the league lead in wins, ranking second in ERA (2.96) and third in innings pitched (67.0).
 
Carlisle owns a 3.79 GPA as a Sport Management major. The righty turned in a 4.95 ERA in his 60.0 innings of work and racked up a team-high 67 strikeouts, ranking third in the MAC with 10.05 strikeouts per nine innings. In conference play, Carlisle trimmed his ERA down to 4.41 and tied for fifth in the league with 58 strikeouts against MAC foes.  
 
A University Studies major who graduated this spring with a 3.68 ERA, Howard started all 52 games at second base for the Broncos and posted a .349 batting average, 11th-highest in the MAC, with a .439 on-base percentage. The senior drew a team-high 26 walks and ranked third on Western Michigan in runs scored (43), RBIs (40), doubles (10) and stolen bases (8).
 
The 2026 Academic All-District® Baseball teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the diamond and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes baseball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
 
Mally and Maloney have been selected as CSC Academic All-America® finalists and will advance to the national ballot to be voted on by CSC members.