Academic All-District Honors for Five, Academic All-America for Young

Oskaloosa--Keoni Young (Sr., Las Vegas, Nev., Exercise Science) closed out his time at William Penn by being recognized as one of the NAIA's top scholar-athletes as the College Sports Communicators academic all-district and Academic All-America Baseball teams were announced recently.

Five individuals garnered all-district honors, including Young, Abraham Arroyo (Grad., Camuy, P.R., Master's of Sports Management), Sawyer Hardman (Jr., American Fork, Utah, Kinesiology), McGwire Jephson (Jr., Rigby, Idaho, Business Management), and Aiden North (Jr., Oskaloosa, Iowa, Industrial Technology).

Arroyo, with a 3.53 Grade Point Average, hit .355 this past spring with four home runs, 31 RBIs, and 40 runs scored.  Hardman's 2026 campaign included a .298 batting average with 10 home runs, 39 RBIs, and 28 runs scored.  He has a 3.94 GPA.

Jephson (3.89), North (3.66), and Young (3.89) were all chosen for second-team all-Heart of America Athletic Conference recognition in May.

Jephson owned a .356 clip with five home runs, 35 RBIs, and 56 runs scored, while North hit .386 with three home runs, 48 RBIs, and 13 runs.

Young, who was picked for Second-Team Academic All-America laurels, had a .372 mark with 10 home runs, 57 RBIs, and 37 runs scored.  He is the program's first Academic All-American since the 2024 season and the fourth in the last five years for William Penn.

There were 12 individuals from within the NAIA who received Second-Team accolades, while 10 were named to the First Team.

The prestigious award from CSC recognizes athletes for their performances on the field and in the classroom.

To be eligible for the award, individuals must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically, have been enrolled at the nominating institution for one year (transfers use grades from their previous institution), and have a 3.50 Grade Point Average.  Additional competition criteria is also required.

Additionally, for baseball, position players must have competed in at least 90% of their team's games played OR have started at least 66% of the total number of team games played.  For pitchers, they are required to have pitched 35-plus innings or appeared in 17 games as a pitcher.

To view the complete academic all-district list, click HERE

To view the complete Academic All-America list, click HERE