APPLETON, Wis. -- The Lawrence University baseball team has earned the American Baseball Coaches Association Team Academic Excellence Award for the second consecutive season.
    The Vikings picked up the honor after compiling a 3.18 grade point average for the 2024-25 academic year. To receive the award, a team needed a minimum 3.0 grade point average for the academic year.
    Lawrence earlier had three players, Zach Leslie, Shane Foley and CJ Filipek, selected for the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team. The Vikings also posted an impressive 20 players on the Academic All-Midwest Conference team. 
    The Vikings were just as good on the field as they were in the classroom. Lawrence won its second consecutive Midwest Conference regular-season championship by posting a 14-7 record in league play. The Vikings, who finished 21-19 overall, have won three of the last four conference crowns.
    Second baseman Taylor Freeman was chosen as the Midwest Conference Player of the Year and went on to earn All-America honors from D3baseball.com. The Vikings had five players, pitchers Elden Santana and Shane Foley, outfielder Edan Perez and shortstop Tate Hartlaub, also named to the all-conference team. Freeman also was an All-Region 9 pick by the ABCA and D3baseball.com, and Santana also earned all-region honors from the ABCA.