Five players from Wayne State College have been named to the 2025 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team.
According to a release from Wayne State Athletics, three of the five are repeat selections as senior pitcher Jacob Kneifl is a three-time honoree while senior pitcher Josh Kilzer and senior shortstop Quinn McCafferty are repeat selections.
McCafferty also advances to the Academic All-American ballot. Senior first baseman Kaden Young and sophomore designated hitter/outfielder Max Heard were other Wildcats to receive the award.
The College Sports Communicators Academic All-America program recognizes the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the diamond and in the classroom. Student-athletes must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.50 or higher and play in at least 90 percent of the team’s games and/or start in 66 percent of games or pitch in 17 games and/or 35 innings pitched.
Kneifl, a senior left-handed pitcher from Wayne (Wayne HS), earned Academic-All-District honors for a third straight season thanks to a 3.60 grade point average majoring in pre-medicine. He led the Wildcat pitching staff in appearances this season with 19, posting a 1-1 record with a 7.89 earned run average. Kneifl worked a season-high 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief in a 6-3 11-inning win at Northern State April 26th and had two innings of scoreless relief vs. Concordia-St. Paul April 13th. He ended his Wildcat career as the all-time leader in appearances at Wayne State with 67.
Kilzer, a senior right hander from Omaha (Ralston HS), was a repeat Academic All-District honoree with a 3.79 grade point average majoring in sport management. This season, Kilzer posted a 3-2 record in 13 appearances and four starts with a 4.26 ERA and one save. He recorded 38 innings pitched and was second on the team in strikeouts with 43. Kilzer threw a season-high six innings, allowing just two hits in a 12-0 win over Bemidji State March 13th. He fanned a season-best six batters in just 2 2/3 innings of scoreless relief at Augustana April 15th. Kilzer finished in seventh in career appearances at Wayne State with 57.
McCafferty, a senior shortstop from Big Horn, Wyoming (Western Nebraska CC), maintained a 3.90 grade point average majoring in mental health counseling to earn Academic All-District honors for a second straight season. He started all 52 games at shortstop this season and hit .278 with two homers and 35 RBI, leading the team in walks (34) while posting the longest hit streak (nine games) and reached base safely streak at 20 games in a row. McCafferty was 3 for 3 with a homer and three RBI vs. UMary (3/27/25) and had a season-high four RBI going 2 for 3 with a double and two runs scored in 13-6 win vs. Minnesota Duluth (4/4/25).
Young, a senior first baseman from Columbus (Northeast CC), earned Academic All-District Team honors with a 3.83 grade point average majoring in business management. He appeared in all 52 games with 50 starts at first base, posting a .264 batting average with four home runs and 30 RBI. Young led the team with 364 putouts and was second with 29 walks to go with 10 multi-hit games while ranking fourth with 10 multi-RBI contests. He had a season-high four RBI with double and run scored vs. Bemidji State (3/13/25), hit three-run homer vs. Minot State (3/22/25) and had a two-run homer vs. Minnesota Duluth in NSIC Tournament game (5/7/25).
Heard, a sophomore designated hitter/outfielder from Omaha (Millard South HS), carried a 3.98 grade point average this season majoring in accounting. On the field he produced a .286 batting average starting at 52 games leading the Wildcats with eight home runs and 49 RBI. Heard ranked second in the NSIC with 20 doubles this season and had 16 multi-hit games. He had seven RBI in a three-game sweep at St. Cloud State April 18 and 19th and was 4 for 5 with a homer, double and four RBI vs. Minnesota Crookston (2/24/25).
The Wayne State College baseball team finished the 2025 baseball season at 30-22 overall and was third place in the NSIC with a 25-15 league record.
