RIVER FOREST, ILL. -- The 2026 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District teams were released a few weeks ago and after moving on to the All-America ballot,
Brandon Mahler (Vernon Hills, Ill.) and
Jake Mahler (Vernon Hills, Ill.) each earned their final accolade of the year being named First Team Academic All-America and Third Team Academic All-America, respectively. Only one other Cougar in program history has earned this honor after
Michael Kasik earned it in 2023.
The Academic All-District Baseball Teams are selected by College Sports Communicators. These athletes are selected based on their athletic prowess and their success in the classroom. These student-athletes must have met a criteria of a 3.5 GPA or above and participated in at least 90% of games this season. Certain students from the All-District teams were then moved on to the Academic All-America ballot that was then voted on by various College Sports Communicators.
B. Mahler picked up his first CSC Academic All-America honor after his standout senior season that resulted in him picking up D3Baseball.com and ABCA/Rawlings All-American honors as well as Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Position Player of the Year and ABCA/Rawlings Region VIII Position Player of the Year while earning his fourth consecutive NACC All-Conference accolade. Throughout the season, B. Mahler picked up NACC Position Player of the Week three times. This year, he led the team in nearly every offensive category batting .472 and slugging .883. He co-led the team in single-season home runs with 16, putting his name second in the Cougar record book and the NACC record book for single-season home runs. This season, he broke the single-season record for RBIs (69), batting average (.472), slugging percentage (.883), and on base percentage (.567). B. Mahler led the NACC in slugging percentage, on base percentage, RBIs, and home runs while ranking second in batting average, hits, and doubles. On the national level, B. Mahler ranked fifth in the nation for single-season home runs for the majority of the year while finishing his career ranked top ten in the NCAA for home runs, RBIs, batting average, slugging percentage, on base percentage, and total bases. B. Mahler graduated cum laude with a degree in business with a 3.60 GPA.
J. Mahler picked up his fist CSC Academic All-America honor after his standout senior season that resulted in him picking up ABCA/Rawlings All-American honors as well as Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) All-Conference First Team honors. This year, he batted .420 while starting and appearing in all 43 games for the Cougars. He co-led the team in single-season home runs with 16, writing his name second in the CUC record book and the NACC record book for single-season home runs. J. Mahler picked up 76 hits, ten doubles, two triples, and 59 RBIs this season while slugging .505. In the field, he was responsible for 27 putouts and 88 assists in his first season as the starting third baseman. J. Mahler led the NACC in home runs while ranking in the top five in batting average, hits, doubles, slugging percentage, on base percentage, and RBIs. Across NCAA Division III, J. Mahler ranked fifth in the nation for single-season home runs for the majority of the year while finishing his career ranked in the top 40 in the NCAA for home runs, hits, RBIs, slugging percentage, and total bases. This season, J. Mahler earned his second ABCA/Rawlings All-Region recognition this year as a first team third baseman after being named to second team last season as a designated hitter. J. Mahler earned his second consecutive NACC All-Conference accolade this year after being named first team for his work this season. Throughout the season, J. Mahler earned NACC Position Player of the Week after helping to guide the Cougars to wins over Benedictine University and St. Norbert College. J. Mahler graduated magna cum laude with a degree in business management with a 3.79 GPA.
For a full look at the 2026 CSC Academic All-America teams
click here.
