Decatur, IL - Millikin University Baseball's Caleb Akins was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America Third Team, as announced by the organization in the late morning on Tuesday. He is the 6th academic all-American in program history, and the first since 1989.

In order to be eligible for an academic all-America selection, a student-athlete must first be named academic all-district. To earn all-district honors, student-athletes must have a 3.50 grade point average and be a major contributor to their team.

"Caleb was named a captain as a sophomore, and this honor is a perfect example of why." said Head Baseball Coach Brandon Townsend. "Caleb is a winner at everything that he does, and a great representation of our program on and off the field. I am very proud of what he had achieved, and excited to see all that he will go on to accomplish."

Akins, a sophomore biology major, was one piece of a stellar pitching staff for the Big Blue. Millikin's staff collectively held one of the lowest ERAs in all of division III baseball during the 2026 season at 2.79. For his part, Akins posted a 10-2 record over 14 starts. He held an ERA of 2.63, and registered 84 strikeouts to just 21 walks allowed across a team high 95.2 innings of work.

A native of Troy, Ohio, Akins adds another title to his listing of awards in 2026. In addition to his CSC Academic All-District honor, he was named a third team all-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and a fourth team all-American by D3baseball.com. In addition, he was one of four MU student-athletes to be named All-Region by the ABCA, earning first team honors. He was also one of six Big Blue baseball players to earn All-CCIW recognition, landing on the second team.

Akins' 10 pitching victories were tied for the team lead as the Big Blue posted a 35-10 overall record. Millikin won the CCIW regular season outright at 15-5, before winning the CCIW postseason tournament to advance to the NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament.

Akins is the only student-athlete representing the CCIW on the academic all-america teams for baseball.