THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Cal Lutheran baseball placed four student-athletes on the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team, as Kai Caranto, Max McGrady, Oscar Lopez, and Colten Hanson were all recognized for their work both on the field and in the classroom.

Three of the four honorees came from the Kingsmen pitching staff, with McGrady, Lopez, and Hanson all earning the recognition for the first time while Caranto picked up his second straight CSC All-District selection.

Caranto, a junior infielder from Castaic, California, carries a 3.75 GPA as a sports management major. The Kingsmen's everyday shortstop, he played in and started 38 of the team's 40 games this season while batting .280 with 37 hits, including 12 doubles, one triple, and three home runs. He also totaled 27 RBIs, 44 runs scored, 30 walks, and 12 stolen bases while posting a .451 on-base percentage. One of his top performances of the year came against Pacific Lutheran in early February when he went 3-for-4 with a triple, five RBIs, and two runs scored.

McGrady, a junior right-handed pitcher from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, owns a 3.68 GPA as an economics major. After transferring to Cal Lutheran from Santa Barbara City College ahead of the 2026 season, he quickly established himself as the Kingsmen's ace. McGrady led the pitching staff with a 3.80 ERA while recording 74 strikeouts across 66.1 innings pitched. His strongest outing of the season came in a complete-game performance against Whittier on April 17, where he struck out eight and allowed just one earned run. Earlier in the year, he also recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts against Caltech in the team's SCIAC opener.

Lopez, a junior left-handed pitcher from Chatsworth, California, maintains a 3.62 GPA as a sports management major. One of the Kingsmen's top starting arms throughout the spring, Lopez went 6-4 over 60.2 innings while totaling 48 strikeouts. He opened the season by setting a new career high with six strikeouts against McMurry before matching that mark later in the year against Caltech and Keene State.

Hanson, a junior left-handed pitcher from San Jose, California, carries a 3.78 GPA as a business administration-finance major. A reliable contributor out of the Kingsmen bullpen throughout the season, Hanson recorded 42 strikeouts over 35.1 innings pitched. Like Lopez, he established a career high with six strikeouts in his first appearance of the season against McMurry before matching the total later in the spring against Chapman and Pomona-Pitzer.

The 2025-26 Academic All-District Baseball Team, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances in competition and in the classroom across NCAA Division I, II, III and NAIA. To be eligible, student-athletes must be at least a sophomore in academic and athletic standing, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higher, and either compete in 90 percent of their institution's games or start in at least 66 percent of games played. Pitchers must make at least 17 appearances or pitch 35 innings during the season.