Baseball 6/2/2026 3:00:00 PM Cooper Weidenthaler, Assistant Director for Media Relations

Five Baseball Student-Athletes Awarded Academic All-District Honors

Hitzelberger, Nash, Nazelli, Pulford-Thorpe, and Tuccinardi recognized for work in the classroom.

DETROIT -- Five members of the 2026 Wayne State University baseball squad were recognized this afternoon with Academic All-District honors by College Sports Communicators (CSC, formerly CoSIDA).

Getting some attention for their work both on the field and in the classroom were senior first baseman/left fielder Bennett Hitzelberger (Richmond, Mich.), redshirt sophomore pitcher Gavin Nash (Howell, Mich. / Hartland), graduate pitcher Gabe Nazelli (Farmington Hills, Mich. / Detroit Country Day), graduate pitcher Keegan Pulford-Thorpe (Aurora, Ont. / Newmarket [Central Florida / Georgia Highlands College]), and junior designated hitter/first baseman Owen Tuccinardi (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Skyline).

Hitzelberger (3.79 GPA - Finance), one of the greatest players in program history, a three-time All-GLIAC honoree that spent his entire career in the Green and Gold, and now a two-time CSC Academic All-District honoree (2025). A First Team All-GLIAC recipient in 2024, the first baseman and left fielder then secured back-to-back Honorable Mention nods. A career .343 hitter in 168 games played, Hitzelberger's senior season may have been his best. Having played in 52 of the team's 53 games with 51 starts (35 at 1B, 16 in LF), the southpaw hit .335 (63-for-188) with 53 runs scored, 16 doubles, four triples, nine home runs, 38 RBI, 114 total bases, 38 walks, two hit-by-pitches, and 22 stolen bases in 26 attempts. Nineteen of those 52 games saw Hitzelberger finish with multiple hits, including five at Roosevelt on April 17 and three against both California (Pa.) on March 14 and Purdue Northwest on April 24. That five-hit effort marked the program's first five-hit performance in nearly five years. Hitzelberger also registered nine multi-RBI games, the longest hitting streak of any Warrior at 12 contests as well as the squad's longest reached-base streak at 30.

Nash (3.57 GPA - Management) was poised to become Wayne State's ace prior to the 2025 campaign, but appeared in just four games before tearing his labrum and missing the rest of the season. Fast forward to this spring and Nash more than proved his value alongside Will Lowery as part of the Warriors' one-two punch on the mound. Nash accounted for a 4.06 ERA and did so across 11 appearances, all starts, with an even 51 innings pitched. In those 51 frames, the redshirt sophomore went 4-4 with two of WSU's four complete games (Lowery had the other two), 49 punchouts, 13 walks, and a .263 batting average against. Nash's first career complete game in a league performance came on March 21 at Parkside with seven innings pitched, five hits, two runs, one earned, no walks, and four strikeouts on 91 pitches. The other outing in which he went the distance, albeit in a loss, was on March 29 at Davenport with six frames, four hits, two earned runs, no free passes, and five punchouts on 83 pitches.

Nazelli (3.87 GPA - Exercise & Sport Science) accounted for a 4.28 ERA, 48 and one-third innings pitched and a 5-1 win-loss record (tied career best for victories set in 2025) for his final go-around in the Green and Gold in 2026. In those 48.1 frames of work, Nazelli struck out a career-high 38 batters with a career-low 21 walks and a .251 batting average against, also a personal best for the right-handed hurler. The graduate student-athlete appeared in 11 games, eight of which were as the starter, and couldn't have asked for a better start to his final collegiate campaign. In those three efforts, which lasted 14 and two-thirds innings, Nazelli surrendered just two earned runs for a 1.23 ERA with 16 strikeouts and seven walks against those 62 batters faced. Nazelli also punched out five batters against St. Cloud State on March 10 and at Roosevelt on April 19.

Pulford-Thorpe (3.89 GPA - Exercise & Sport Science, Nutrition & Food Science) was granted another season of eligibility by the NCAA, his third at Wayne State, and took full advantage of it in 2026. A Second Team All-GLIAC honoree, Pulford-Thorpe made 13 appearances, 12 of which were starts, with a 5-2 win-loss record, 69.1 frames of work, a 5.06 ERA, .266 batting average against, 64 strikeouts (first on the team), and 33 walks. With an ERA over eight through those first three outings, the 2019 high school graduate was superb in the latter half of the conference slate to catapult himself into All-GLIAC consideration. In those final three efforts, Pulford-Thorpe accounted for 20 innings pitched, 12 hits allowed, four earned runs, six walks, 24 strikeouts, and only two extra-base hits. More specifically, his ERA was just 1.80 in that span as he held opposing batters to a measly batting average of .174 and became a staple in WSU's starting rotation.

Tuccinardi (3.96 GPA - Accounting) was already a cornerstone in Wayne State's lineup the past two seasons, but became the cleanup hitter the program needed him to be in 2026. Overall, Tuccinardi made 17 starts at that four hole in the lineup, second to Drew Hill's 21, but he paced the squad in starts there for GLIAC play with 10. In his 50 appearances (49 starts), Tuccinardi hit .309 (54-for-175) with 45 runs scored, 14 doubles, three triples, 13 home runs (tied the program record), 55 RBI, 113 total bases, 42 walks, and three stolen bases in three attempts. When it comes to slugging percentage, a baseball statistic measuring a batter's power and ideal for a middle-of-the-lineup bat, Tuccinardi's .646 clip was second on the squad to just Hill's .663. Those two tied-for-first on the team in multi-RBI games with 15 while Hill finished with 17 multi-hit performances. Tuccinardi's longest hitting streak was 10 contests to go with a 23-game reached-base streak.

Hitzelberger has advanced to the national ballot that will be voted on to determine CSC Academic All-America honors, which will be unveiled on Tuesday, June 23 at 12 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#13 Drew Hill: RF; 5' 10"; Junior; L/L

#24 Bennett Hitzelberger: 1B/LF; 6' 2"; Senior; L/L

#21 Gavin Nash: RHP; 6' 1"; Redshirt Sophomore; R/R

#17 Gabe Nazelli: RHP; 6' 3"; Graduate Student; L/R

#2 Owen Tuccinardi: DH/1B; 6' 0"; Junior; R/R

#35 Will Lowery: RHP; 6' 0"; Redshirt Junior; R/R

#27 Keegan Pulford-Thorpe: LHP; 6' 2"; Graduate Student; R/L

Players Mentioned

#13 Drew Hill
: 5' 10"; Junior; L/L
: RF

#24 Bennett Hitzelberger
: 6' 2"; Senior; L/L
: 1B/LF

#21 Gavin Nash
: 6' 1"; Redshirt Sophomore; R/R
: RHP

#17 Gabe Nazelli
: 6' 3"; Graduate Student; L/R
: RHP

#2 Owen Tuccinardi
: 6' 0"; Junior; R/R
: DH/1B

#35 Will Lowery
: 6' 0"; Redshirt Junior; R/R
: RHP

#27 Keegan Pulford-Thorpe
: 6' 2"; Graduate Student; R/L
: LHP