SMC Baseball Trio Earns CSC Academic All-District Recognition

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Three members of the Spartanburg Methodist College baseball team — Dario Astudillo, Travis Dannecker and Elljah Franz — were recently named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team.

Astudillo, a senior catcher from Newberry, Florida, played in 44 games and batted .286 with 23 RBIs, 14 runs scored and two home runs.

Dannecker, a senior pitcher from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, led the SMC pitching staff with a 5-4 record in 13 starts. He recorded a team-best four complete games and struck out 44 batters during the season.

Franz, a junior infielder from Simpsonville, South Carolina, earned second-team All-Appalachian Athletic Conference honors in 2026. He led the Pioneers with a .406 batting average, 69 hits and 24 walks, while ranking second on the team with 39 runs scored, seven doubles and 27 RBIs.

The trio played key roles in helping Spartanburg Methodist reach the Appalachian Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament during the program’s first season as a member of the AAC.

The NAIA CSC Academic All-America® program is partially supported through the NAIA governance structure.