GREENVILLE, N.C. – Josh Grosz, Garrett Saylor, Carter Spivey, Justin Wilcoxen and Trey Yesavage have been selected to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team.

The 2023 Academic All-District Baseball Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the diamond and in the classroom.

The quintet of Pirate honorees has combined to help East Carolina win five-straight ABCA and American Athletic Conference Team Academic Excellence Awards.

Grosz, a communication major, owns a 3.75 GPA and is a six-time ECU Director of Athletics Honor Roll selection and has earned a spot on the American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team the last two years. He currently ranks first in the league in opposing batting average (.182) and third in earned run average (3.21). Grosz owns one of two complete-game shutouts by a Pirate this season, blanking George Mason over eight innings in a 5-0 victory March 26. He has turned in four quality starts this year and struck out a career-high 11 in a 13-1 win over Liberty March 11. Grosz was also tabbed the AAC Pitcher of the Week March 27.

Saylor graduated in the fall of 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and sports a 3.67 GPA. He is an eight-time ECU Director of Athletics Honor Roll member and has earned a spot on the AAC All-Academic Team three times (2020-22). The 2022 AAC Second-Team selection ranked second nationally last season in appearances (39) and 24th in strikeouts per nine innings (12.30) while leading the league in both appearances and strikeouts (108). This season, Saylor has racked up 48 strikeouts against just seven walks in 36.2 innings.

Spivey has the distinction of obtaining two degrees from ECU in just five years. He graduated with a BSBA in finance in the summer of 2021 and his MBA in the spring of 2023 – all with a 3.64 cumulative GPA. Spivey has been named to the ECU Director of Athletics Honor Roll 10 times and the AAC All-Academic Team on four occasions (2018-22). He enjoyed a banner season in 2022 that resulted in AAC Pitcher of the Year accolades (first relief pitcher in league history to earn the award) and third team All-America recognition. A regular in the Pirates’ weekend rotation, Spivey is tied for the team lead in wins (six) and has struck out 49 batters in 63.2 innings. He also threw one of two complete-game shutouts by a Pirate pitcher this season in ECU’s 10-0 run-rule victory over Cincinnati April 15, earning AAC Pitcher of the Week accolades as a result.

Wilcoxen, who sports a cumulative 3.80 GPA, graduated from ECU with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in the fall of 2022. He is an eight-time ECU Director of Athletics Honor Roll member and has earned AAC All-Academic Team recognition the last three years (2020-22). Wilcoxen has started 42 games at catcher this season, leading the squad in batting average (.339) and ranking second in the league with 15 runners caught stealing. He was tabbed the AAC Player of the Week Feb. 20 after hitting .719 in the Pirates’ season-opening sweep of George Washington. Wilcoxen has committed just two errors the entire season, resulting in a current .996 fielding percentage.

Yesavage is working toward a bachelor’s degree in construction management and owns a 3.51 GPA. He is a four-time ECU Director of Athletics Honor Roll member and was named to the 2022 AAC All-Academic Team. The midseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List selection leads the league in runs allowed (21) and earned runs allowed (20) as well as slotting second in earned run average (3.00), strikeouts (89) and opposing batting average (.201). On a national scale, Yesavage is sixth in strikeouts per nine innings (13.35), 14th in WHIP (1.00) and 19th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.56). He was named the AAC Pitcher of the Week March 20 and has struck out double figures in five games – including a career-high 13 at Houston March 31.

Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced June 6 for softball and June 7 for baseball.