DAVIS, Calif. — UC Davis baseball pitcher Rowen Barnes was named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America First Team for NCAA Division I, the organization announced Tuesday. Barnes, a graduate student, posted a 0.80 ERA with 12 saves in 2026 while carrying a 3.55 cumulative grade-point average.

Teammate Mason Lerma was also honored, earning CSC Academic All-District recognition.

Barnes, a full-time STEM-designated student within UC Davis' Master of Management program, served as the Aggies' closer during the 2026 season. The right-hander went 2-0 with 12 saves and a 0.80 ERA over 27 appearances, all in relief, working 33.2 innings with 31 strikeouts against 11 walks. He allowed 21 hits and held opponents to a .181 batting average with a 0.95 WHIP.

The Atherton, Calif., native ranked third nationally in saves in 2026 and tied Cal Poly's Nick Bonn for the Big West lead. The 12 saves Barnes recorded in 2026 are the third-most in a single season at UC Davis, behind Justin Fitzgerald's 15 in 2008 and Zach Stone's 13 in 2015. 

Lerma earned CSC Academic All-District honors. The junior left-hander from Santa Rosa, Calif., went 4-2 with a 2.96 ERA over 26 relief appearances in 2026, striking out 53 in 54.2 innings while walking 23. Opponents hit .260 against him with a 1.41 WHIP. The Cardinal Newman High School product earned All-Big West Second Team honors in 2025. In the classroom, Lerma, a Human Development major, carries a cumulative grade-point average above 3.50. 

To qualify for CSC Academic All-District and Academic All-America recognition, student-athletes must be at least sophomores academically and athletically and maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.50. Pitchers must also make at least 17 appearances or throw at least 35 innings.

CSC, formerly CoSIDA, established the Academic All-America program in 1952. The 2026 NCAA Division I Academic All-America First Team in baseball includes 14 members with an average GPA of 3.84.

ABOUT UC DAVIS ATHLETICS: UC Davis, ranked No. 2 among public universities by the Wall Street Journal in the value of a college degree, is home to 40,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 employees. Ranked top in the United States in agriculture and forestry as well as No. 1 in veterinary medicine, UC Davis is located in a true California college town nestled between world-class destinations such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe. Over 650 Aggie student-athletes compete in 25 Division I varsity sports, with 16 sports transitioning to the Mountain West Conference beginning in 2026–27. 

For more information, visit https://ucdavisaggies.com/.