Photo by: Matthew Mitchell/MSU Athletic Communications
Michigan State Baseball’s Dzierwa Tabbed CSC Academic All-American
7/1/2025 12:06:00 PM | Baseball
Spartan southpaw becomes MSU baseball’s third Academic and Athletic All-America since 1974.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan State baseball player Joseph Dzierwa was tabbed to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America® Third-Team baseball team, announced by CSC Tuesday afternoon.
Along with garnering CSC Academic All-America® accolades, Dzierwa was named a National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Second-Team All-America honoree, in addition to garnering Perfect Game Second-Team All-American accolades, and also receiving American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings Third-Team All-America honors and named to D1Baseball's Third-Team All-America list.
A junior from Haskins, Ohio, Dzierwa is the third-ever MSU baseball student-athlete to earn both Athletic and Academic All-American Honors in the same season, joining Brock Vradenburg, who earned First-Team CSC Academic All-America® accolades and also named a Third-Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA, Baseball America and D1Baseball. The first Spartan to earn both academic and athletic All-America accolades was Dale Frietch in 1974.
Overall, Dzierwa is MSU baseball's 16th Academic All-America accolade and the 13th different Spartan baseball player to earn Academic All-American honors.
Dzierwa is the sixth Spartan player to earn athletic All-American honors under head coach Jake Boss Jr., joining Jeff Holm (Third Team in 2011), Blaise Salter (Third Team in 2014), Dakota Mekkes (Third Team in 2015), Mason Erla (Second Team in 2020) and Vradenburg in 2023.
Dzierwa has a 3.66 GPA majoring in communication. He is a two-time CSC Academic All-District honoree, as well as a two-time Academic All-Big Ten recipient.
On the diamond, the Spartan southpaw was named a national semifinalist for three major awards, including USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award and NCBWA's Dick Howser Trophy and College Baseball Foundation's National Pitcher of the Year Award, as presented by the College Baseball Foundation.
The Spartan southpaw was also named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and also garnered First Team All-B1G accolades. He was the only player that was a unanimous selection to the First Team.
Dzierwa became the second Spartan to be named B1G Pitcher of the Year, joining Kurt Wunderlich in 2011. He is the sixth Spartan player to earn a major player award from the B1G, joining Player of the Year Award winners Bob Malek in 2002 and Jeff Holm in 2011, along with B1G Freshman of the Year Ryan Sontag in 2005 and Ryan Jones in 2010. MSU Baseball has also won three Coach of the Year Awards with Tom Smith in both 1988 and 1992, and Jake Boss Jr. in 2011.
Dzierwa posted an 8-3 record with a 2.36 ERA, firing 104 strikeouts in 91.2 innings pitched in 15 starts. The 104 strikeouts was second in the B1G and 23rd in the NCAA. He threw one complete game shutout, as part of four combined shutouts, in holding the opposition to .201 against him this season.
The Spartan southpaw was also second in the B1G and 23rd in the NCAA in WHIP (0.98), along with fourth in the league and 44th in the nation in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (6.41).
Dzierwa continued to establish new program top marks, as he was the first Spartan player in program history to be a four-time Big Ten Pitcher of the Week, doing so in back-to-back weeks twice. No MSU player had picked up back-to-back B1G weekly honors of any kind before Dzierwa did it the first two weeks of the season, earning the award Feb. 17 and 24, an again on May 5 and 12.
By earning B1G Pitcher of the Week four times this season, Dzierwa was the first B1G pitcher to earn the award four times in a season since 2009 when Ohio State's Alex Wimmers was a four-time winner.
With the 104 strikeouts for the season, Dzierwa became the fifth Spartan pitcher in program history to reach the 100 K milestone, and the first since Nick Bates in 2002 with 100. Dzierwa passed Bates and finishes at No. 4 on MSU's single-season strikeout list.
It also gives him 255 for his career, holding at No. 3 on MSU's career strikeout list.
Along with garnering CSC Academic All-America® accolades, Dzierwa was named a National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Second-Team All-America honoree, in addition to garnering Perfect Game Second-Team All-American accolades, and also receiving American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings Third-Team All-America honors and named to D1Baseball's Third-Team All-America list.
A junior from Haskins, Ohio, Dzierwa is the third-ever MSU baseball student-athlete to earn both Athletic and Academic All-American Honors in the same season, joining Brock Vradenburg, who earned First-Team CSC Academic All-America® accolades and also named a Third-Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA, Baseball America and D1Baseball. The first Spartan to earn both academic and athletic All-America accolades was Dale Frietch in 1974.
Overall, Dzierwa is MSU baseball's 16th Academic All-America accolade and the 13th different Spartan baseball player to earn Academic All-American honors.
Dzierwa is the sixth Spartan player to earn athletic All-American honors under head coach Jake Boss Jr., joining Jeff Holm (Third Team in 2011), Blaise Salter (Third Team in 2014), Dakota Mekkes (Third Team in 2015), Mason Erla (Second Team in 2020) and Vradenburg in 2023.
Dzierwa has a 3.66 GPA majoring in communication. He is a two-time CSC Academic All-District honoree, as well as a two-time Academic All-Big Ten recipient.
On the diamond, the Spartan southpaw was named a national semifinalist for three major awards, including USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award and NCBWA's Dick Howser Trophy and College Baseball Foundation's National Pitcher of the Year Award, as presented by the College Baseball Foundation.
The Spartan southpaw was also named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and also garnered First Team All-B1G accolades. He was the only player that was a unanimous selection to the First Team.
Dzierwa became the second Spartan to be named B1G Pitcher of the Year, joining Kurt Wunderlich in 2011. He is the sixth Spartan player to earn a major player award from the B1G, joining Player of the Year Award winners Bob Malek in 2002 and Jeff Holm in 2011, along with B1G Freshman of the Year Ryan Sontag in 2005 and Ryan Jones in 2010. MSU Baseball has also won three Coach of the Year Awards with Tom Smith in both 1988 and 1992, and Jake Boss Jr. in 2011.
Dzierwa posted an 8-3 record with a 2.36 ERA, firing 104 strikeouts in 91.2 innings pitched in 15 starts. The 104 strikeouts was second in the B1G and 23rd in the NCAA. He threw one complete game shutout, as part of four combined shutouts, in holding the opposition to .201 against him this season.
The Spartan southpaw was also second in the B1G and 23rd in the NCAA in WHIP (0.98), along with fourth in the league and 44th in the nation in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (6.41).
Dzierwa continued to establish new program top marks, as he was the first Spartan player in program history to be a four-time Big Ten Pitcher of the Week, doing so in back-to-back weeks twice. No MSU player had picked up back-to-back B1G weekly honors of any kind before Dzierwa did it the first two weeks of the season, earning the award Feb. 17 and 24, an again on May 5 and 12.
By earning B1G Pitcher of the Week four times this season, Dzierwa was the first B1G pitcher to earn the award four times in a season since 2009 when Ohio State's Alex Wimmers was a four-time winner.
With the 104 strikeouts for the season, Dzierwa became the fifth Spartan pitcher in program history to reach the 100 K milestone, and the first since Nick Bates in 2002 with 100. Dzierwa passed Bates and finishes at No. 4 on MSU's single-season strikeout list.
It also gives him 255 for his career, holding at No. 3 on MSU's career strikeout list.
Players Mentioned
LHP
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