Baseball | June 2

DeKALB, IL - The Mid-American Conference champion Northern Illinois University baseball team has had five student-athletes named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team.

Junior Marcus Romero (Brighton, Colo./South Mountain College) and seniors Nick Bassi (Zionsville, Ind./St. Charles CC), John Lyman (Minneapolis, Minn./NIACC), Cole Smith (Dubuque, Iowa/Bradley) and Matt Tarr (North Aurora, Ill./Purdue), were recognized for their achievement in the classroom this year.

Smith adds another postseason honor to his current collection for this season. He was an All-MAC Second Team selection at second base and was named to the MAC All-Tournament Team. A General Studies major with a 3.916 cumulative grade point average, Smith tied for the team lead in batting average at .357 and had a team-high 19 doubles. The senior hit .345 in the postseason with three doubles, two home runs and 12 runs batted in.

Romero, a Human Resource Management major with a 3.565 GPA, hit .323 in the postseason and tied Smith with 10 hits. He had two home runs against St. John's on Sunday in the NCAA Regional at Florida State. Romero led the Huskies this season with 24 stolen bases while scoring 45 runs.

Tarr led NIU with four saves in 2026 and had a 2-1 record in 24 appearances. He had 34 strikeouts in 25.2 innings pitched. A General Studies major with a 3.634 GPA, Tarr had four strikeouts in the bottom of the ninth at UIC on April 28 to get the save in NIU's 9-8 win over the Flames.

Lyman holds a 3.809 GPA in Organizational and Corporate Communications. The senior made 19 appearances out of the bullpen, striking out 15 batters over 13.0 innings. Lyman allowed just two runs in his last 12 appearances of the season. He had two saves on the year, pitching a perfect ninth inning at Wofford on Feb. 22 and getting the final two outs of NIU's 6-4 11-inning win at UMass on April 3.

Bassi, a Sport Management major with a 3.6 GPA, also had two saves on the season in 19 appearances. He earned the save in NIU's 6-5 win over Miami in 15 innings at the MAC Tournament. Bassi had 23 strikeouts in 20.2 innings pitched and had three wins out of the bullpen.

The 2026 NIU Huskies won a program-record 36 games and won their first MAC Championship. NIU appeared in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1972, earning the #3 seed for the Tallahassee Regional. On May 29 the Huskies defeated Coastal Carolina 12-10 for their first win at the NCAA Tournament in program history.

—NIU—