National recognition reflects a broader tradition of academic achievement among Kentucky State scholar-athletes

FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky State University baseball team has earned the 2025-26 American Baseball Coaches Association Team Academic Excellence Award, adding to a record of academic achievement among the University’s scholar-athletes.

Presented by Sports Attack, the national award recognizes baseball programs whose student-athletes earned a cumulative team GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale during the 2025-26 academic year. Kentucky State was among more than 500 college programs nationwide to receive the honor.

To qualify, programs also were required to have a head coach who is a current ABCA member. The complete list of recipients includes institutions from NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, the NAIA, junior colleges, and high schools.

The baseball team’s recognition reflects a broader tradition at Kentucky State, where scholar-athletes have repeatedly earned the University’s highest academic distinctions during the past decade.

That tradition was especially visible during the University’s 2026 Commencement ceremonies, when both the valedictorian and salutatorian were Kentucky State scholar-athletes.

Valedictorian Zhakeya Hawkins, an 1890 Scholar and computer science major who competed in cross country and track and field, completed her degree with a 4.0 GPA and plans to pursue a Ph.D. in data science. Salutatorian Keon Henderson earned a degree in business administration with a minor in marketing and was a two-year captain and starter on the men’s basketball team.

Baseball has also contributed to that record of academic leadership before. Collier Higgs, a Kentucky State baseball scholar-athlete who earned his degree in business administration, was named valedictorian of the Class of 2023.

The ABCA Team Academic Excellence Award recognizes the collective discipline required for an entire team to meet a high academic standard. For Kentucky State, the honor also underscores a longstanding commitment to developing scholar-athletes whose achievements extend beyond competition and into the classroom, research, leadership, and service.