Four Polar Bears named Academic All-District in Baseball by College Sports Communicators

By Mallory Meister

| 2026 CSC Acaddmic All-District Baseball Team (.pdf) |

ADA — Ohio Northern fifth-year senior Andrew Stechschulte (Findlay), juniors Kyler Lapp (Hall, Ill.) and Evan Russ (Westfield, Ind.) and sophomore Aslyn Farinelli (Crown Point, Ind.) have each been named 2026 Academic All-District in baseball by College Sports Communicators.

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.

To be eligible for Academic All-District honors, each student-athlete must have at least a 3.5 GPA and have played in at least 50 percent of his team's games or pitched at least 10 innings during the season.

Stechschulte, an accounting major, is now a four-time Academic All-District honoree.

He led the team in batting at .345 on the season and led the team with 39 RBIs, 10 home runs, and 42 runs scored to go with 12 doubles and 105 total bases. Defensively, he posted a .990 fielding percentage.

In 173 career games at ONU, Stechschulte has a .280 average with 182 hits, 119 RBIs, 43 doubles, 3 triples, 20 home runs, 126 runs scored, and 24 stolen bases.

Lapp and Russ are both second-time Academic All-District selections.

Lapp, a mechanical engineering major, led the team with 13 doubles and on-base percentage at .475, was second on the team with 35 RBIs and 41 runs scored, and was third on the team with a .335 average.

In three years at ONU, Lapp is a career .336 hitter with 154 hits, 90 RBIs, 35 doubles, 4 triples, 8 home runs, 102 runs, and 8 stolen bases.

Russ batted .305 on the year with 53 hits, 34 RBIs, 8 doubles, 4 home runs, 33 runs scored, and 11 stolen bases.

In 72 career games, the finance and accounting double major has a .287 average with 127 hits, 89 RBIs, 25 doubles, 9 home runs, 81 runs, and 19 stolen bases.

Farinelli, a pharmaceutical business major, had a 6-4 record in 14 appearances, a 4.68 ERA, and 52 strikeouts.

In 20 career appearances, he has a 6-4 record with 61 strikeouts and a 4.68 ERA.

Under 15th-year head coach Gene Stechschulte, the Polar Bears finished 29-15 overall in 2026, placing second in the OAC with a 10-6 league mark.