GREENSBORO, N.C. – 2024-25 was good to The W Baseball, as the program sailed to new heights on the diamond under fourth-year head coach Scott Mularz. On Wednesday, the Owls put another feather in the season's cap by earning the program's first-ever Team Academic Excellence Award from the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA).

The award recognizes ABCA member teams from all levels of high school and collegiate baseball that achieved a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale during the 2024-25 academic year. The W posted a 3.04 grade point average for 2024-25 and was one of just four St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) teams – joining Principia, Webster, and Westminster - to be honored, as well as one of the 170 across the nation from NCAA Division III. In all, a total of 440 college-level teams were recognized from all divisions.

"I am very proud of our team for doing the work to receive this award," Mularz said. "A tenet of our program, as well as NCAA Division III, is the importance of balance between academics and athletics. The discipline it took to qualify for the ABCA award, and also doing the work to achieve the success we had on the field, is really just a life lesson that helps our players grow as men for the future." 

MUW rolled up a record of 21-17 (14-4 SLIAC) for the 2025 season, finishing in second place in the SLIAC for both the regular season and in the league's postseason tournament. Individually, Owls garnered two all-America awards, four all-region honors, five all-SLIAC spots, as well as three SLIAC and two national Player of the Week accolades. 

In the classroom, The W players earned a total of eight SLIAC All-Academic Team recognitions and four Academic All-District awards from the College Sports Communicators. No less than 22 of baseball's student-athletes appeared on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll (3.0+ term GPA) for Spring 2025, alone.

About the ABCA
The American Baseball Coaches Association has a long tradition of recognizing the achievements of baseball coaches and student-athletes. The ABCA/Rawlings All-America Teams are the nation's oldest, founded in 1949, and the ABCA's awards program also includes the ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Awards, the ABCA/ATEC Regional & National Coaches of the Year and several other major awards such as the ABCA Hall of Fame and the Dave Keilitz Ethics in Coaching Award.