JOPLIN, Mo. — Missouri Southern baseball student-athletes Brayden Luikart, Blake Jones, Marcus Young, and Aiden Hinkle were all named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team, the organization announced Tuesday.

The 2026 Academic All-District Baseball teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize 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 baseball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.

Brayden Luikart
Sr. | St. Joseph, Mo. | Center Fielder | Sports & Recreation Management – Kinesiology | 3.57 GPA

Brayden Luikart, a 2026 All-MIAA First Team and 2026 MIAA Gold Glove Team selection, led the Lions in 2026 offensively with a .377 batting average with 58 runs, 78 hits, 23 doubles, three triples, 11 homers, 46 RBI, 140 total bases, 43 walks, and 15 stolen bases. He slugged .676 with a .496 on-base percentage for 1.172 OPS.

He was also named to both the 2026 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division II All-Region Second Team and 2026 D2CCA Baseball All-Central Region Second Team.

Luikart ranked seventh in the MIAA for batting average, fourth for slugging percentage, eighth for on-base percentage, fourth for OPS, fifth for hits, first for doubles and eighth for walks this season.

In the field, Luikart notched 139 putouts and three assists on 142 chances with 0 errors for a 1.000 fielding percentage. He started in all 53 games in center.

The St. Joseph, Missouri, leadoff hitter, paced the Lions with 24 multi-hit games. Luikart also had 11 multi-RBI games. He went on a 44-game reached base streak (eight-game hitting streak).

Luikart graduated in Spring 2026 from Missouri Southern State University with his bachelor's in Sports & Recreation Management – Kinesiology.


Blake Jones
So. | Kansas City, Mo. | First Baseman | General Biology | 4.00 GPA

Blake Jones, a 2026 All-MIAA Honorable Mention selection, was fourth offensively on the Lions this season, batting .330 with 48 runs, 63 hits, 16 doubles, 14 homers, 51 RBI and 121 total bases. He slugged .634 with a .449 on-base percentage over 52 starts at first base in 2026.

Jones had 18 multi-hit games this season with 16 multi-RBI games (second on MSSU). He notched a 23-game reached base streak in 2026 (14-game hitting streak in 2026).

Jones ranked 10th in the MIAA for both slugging and OPS (1.121). He was also sixth in the conference for home runs.


Marcus Young
R-So. | Monett, Mo. | Pitcher | Middle School Social Studies | 3.82 GPA

Reliever Marcus Young, a 2026 All-MIAA Honorable Mention selection, paced the Lions with an MIAA-leading eight saves in 2026.

The redshirt sophomore from Monett, Missouri, appeared in 23 games with a 5.23 ERA (1.39 WHIP) and a 1-2 record over 31.0 innings. Young notched 29 strikeouts and limited opposing batters to a .235 batting average.
 

Aiden Hinkle
R-Fr. | Kansas City, Mo. | Outfielder | Sports & Recreation Management – Kinesiology | 3.69 GPA

Aiden Hinkle, a 2026 All-MIAA Honorable Mention selection, was fifth on MSSU offensively, batting .310 with 54 runs, 58 hits, 14 doubles, a triple, 10 homers and 38 RBI. He also tallied 104 total bases, 31 walks, nine HBPs and 14 stolen bases.

Hinkle, a redshirt freshman from Kansas City, Missouri, slugged .556 with a .430 on-base percentage. He made 48 starts (49 appearances) in the outfield for MSSU in 2026.

Hinkle registered 14 multi-hit games and 10 multi-RBI games. He went on a 15-game reached base streak in 2026 (seven-game hitting streak).