Gebhardt, Ruffner Named to 2026 CSC Academic All-District® Baseball Team
6/2/2026 12:05:00 PM | Baseball
Youngstown State baseball student-athletes Braden Gebhardt and Teddy Ruffner have been named to the 2026 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® Baseball Team, the organization announced on Tuesday.
Gebhardt, a senior left-hander, was named to the CSC Academic All-District Team for the third straight season to become just the second three-time honoree in program history. The Howland, Ohio, native is the first Penguin to earn Academic All-District honors three times since Josh Page from 2006-08. Gebhardt maintained a 3.95 GPA as a marketing major, and he graduated from YSU this spring with his bachelor's degree. He has also been named to the Horizon League All-Academic Team each of the last three seasons.
Gebhardt finished the 2026 season with a 5-4 record, a 3.19 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 87.1 innings while matching the single-season school record with 15 starts on the mound. The senior was named the 2026 Horizon League Pitcher of the Year while also collecting First-Team All-Horizon League honors. He was selected as the Horizon League's Pitcher of the Week a record six times in 2026, and he was named as one of 43 semifinalists for the College Baseball Foundation National Pitcher of the Year Award in April.
Ruffner boasted an impressive 4.00 GPA as a mechanical engineering major, and he graduated from Youngstown State this spring with his bachelor's degree. The Mars, Pa., native was also selected to the 2026 Horizon League All-Academic Team for his combined performance on the field and in the classroom. Ruffner recorded 28 hits including seven doubles, one triple and three home runs over 47 games played and 38 starts as a redshirt senior in 2026. He added 20 runs scored, 18 RBIs, 19 walks and five stolen bases.
An undergraduate student-athlete must have at least a 3.50 cumulative grade point average (on a 4.0 scale) to earn CSC Academic All-District recognition. They must also be a sophomore academically and above to meet the academic criteria.
College Sports Communicators was founded in 1957 and is a 4,700+ member national association for strategic, creative and digital communicators across intercollegiate athletics in the United States and Canada. From its founding in 1957 until the 2022 name change, the organization was known as College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
The organization, which celebrated its 65th year during the 2021-22 academic year, is the second oldest management association in all of intercollegiate athletics. College Sports Communicators became an affiliated partner with NACDA (National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics) in December of 2008.
