COLUMBUS, Miss. - The W baseball team has had five of its players honored on the 2026 Academic All-District® Baseball Team, selected by College Sports Communicators (CSC). Recognized from the Owls' roster were
Will Carter (Kosciusko, Miss.),
Campbell McCluney (Chelsea, Ala.),
Michael O'Neill (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada),
Chase Marshall (Moody, Ala.), and
Matthew Windham (Calera, Ala.).
Furthermore, because of their elite combination of academic and athletic success, Marshall and Windham were both selected to advance to the national ballot for consideration on the 2026 Academic All-American® Baseball Team, which will be announced June 23.
Carter is a senior business major at MUW. The right-handed pitcher led the team in earned run average at 3.48 across 41.1 innings as a reliever. Carter amassed an 8-0 record in his 17 appearances, as he rolled up 32 strikeouts to just 11 walks issued.
For McCluney, a senior kinesiology major, this is his second consecutive Academic All-District® recognition. McCluney, as one of The W's starting pitchers, had a 3-3 record over a team-leading 54.2 innings pitched. He also topped the Owls with 43 strikeouts in 14 total appearances on the mound.
O'Neill, a junior transfer, is an elementary education major at The W. O'Neill stepped in to handle the catching chores, starting 33 of the team's 40 games behind the plate. He hit .217, with two doubles and four home runs, to go along with his 25 runs batted in. O'Neill drew a team-high 33 walks and threw out 10 runners attempting to steal (in 48 total tries).
Marshall, also a junior transfer this season, played the middle infield for the Owls and is a communications major. Marshall was a first-team All-SLIAC and an all-region selection in 2026, with a slash line of .379/.515/.621 in his 38 games played. He amassed 50 hits – 9 doubles, 1 triple, and 7 homers – in his 132 at-bats, driving in 38 runs and scoring 33 more.
Windham was honored as CSC Academic All-District® for the third-straight season in 2026. A business major, Windham was also voted all-SLIAC in 2026 (as well as during his sophomore season in 2024). This past year, Windham capped his fourth season of handling MUW's centerfield duties by starting all 40 games, and had a slash line of .337/.411/.528 for the year. He topped the Owls with 178 at-bats, with 60 hits (10 doubles, 3 triples, 6 home runs), 52 runs scored, and 38 RBI.
The 2025-26 Academic All-District® Baseball Team recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA.
To earn Academic All-District® honors, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore in academic and athletic standing and hold a minimum 3.50 cumulative grade-point average. Additionally, each must appear in at least 90 percent – or start 66 percent – of their team's games played.
