Baseball | June 23

DeKALB, IL – Senior Cole Smith (Dubuque, Iowa/Bradley) of the Northern Illinois University baseball team was named to College Sports Communicators' Academic All-America Second Team on Tuesday.
 
Smith is the third NIU baseball student-athlete to be recognized as an Academic All-American. He is the first in 30 years after pitcher Paul Erschen earned the honor back in 1996. Smith graduated with a degree in general studies this spring, posting a 3.916 cumulative grade point average.
 
"Cole is very deserving of being named an Academic All-American," said head coach Ryan Copeland. "He exemplifies what it means to be a student-athlete. His accomplishments in the classroom and on the field are a representation of who he is as a person."
 
Smith started all 49 games he played this season, leading NIU with a .357 batting average, .583 slugging percentage and 19 doubles. He was one of three Huskies in 2026 to drive in at least 50 runs. Smith had two separate double-digit game hitting streaks. The first was from March 29 to April 28 which included eight multi-hit games. Smith reached base safely in each of the last 26 games of the season, which included an 11-game hitting streak from May 9-31.
 
In the Mid-American Conference tournament Smith hit .412 with two home runs and nine runs batted in, earning a spot on the MAC All-Tournament Team. He was 2-for-5 with five RBI, including a grand slam, in NIU's 10-3 win over Toledo on May 22 to advance the Huskies to the MAC Championship game. Smith had a double, a triple, and an RBI in NIU's first-ever NCAA Tournament win on May 29 over Coastal Carolina.
 
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. 
 
--NIU--