KANSAS CITY, Mo. — BYU baseball student-athletes Bryker Hurdsman, Ashton Johnson, Matt Hansen and Cayson Bell were named Academic All-District by College Sports Communicators on Tuesday. Johnson and Hurdsman are both repeat selections, having been honored by CSC in 2025.
JOHNSON, a senior from Holladay, Utah, is a neuroscience major with a 3.80 cumulative GPA. He will graduate in Spring 2027, having completed all the prerequisites for medical school. Johnson was recently named the Big 12 Conference Baseball Scholar Athlete of the Year, an award that honors the league’s top student-athlete for their combined performance on the field and in the classroom. He was recently selected to the 2026 CSC Academic All-America ballot. The Academic All‐America baseball team will be announced on July 1.
In early May, Johnson was named to the Starting Nine of the 2026 Tony Gwynn Community Service Trophy and is currently a finalist for the national award. The Gwynn Trophy honors collegiate baseball student-athletes who are active in their community and represent their programs with integrity, while excelling in the classroom and on the field. Johnson is very involved in a wide range of community service efforts, including the KIND Fund, Mac’s Gift Children’s Cancer Foundation, Sole Hope and Jae Foundation.
Over two seasons at BYU, Johnson appeared in 47 games with a 6-6 record and seven saves. He finished his Cougar career with an ERA of 3.75 over 98 1/3 innings with 80 strikeouts. As a senior in 2026, Johnson appeared in 23 games and finished the regular season tied for third in the Big 12 in games finished (14) and was eighth in saves (5). Before arriving in Provo, Johnson spent two years at College of Southern Idaho, where he was an NJCAA Academic All-American in 2023 and 2024.
HURDSMAN led the Cougar baseball team with a cumulative GPA of 3.93 and graduated in April with a degree in public health. The senior outfielder from St. George, Utah, appeared in 50 games with 49 starts in 2026. He hit .282 with six home runs, 11 doubles, 31 RBI and scored 28 runs. He also stole nine bases and was hit by a pitch 10 times, bringing his career total to 34, the second most all-time at BYU.
As a three-year starter for the Cougars from 2024-26, Hurdsman played in 164 games, with 150 starts. In addition to being honored as CSC Academic All-District twice, he received the Big 12 Gerald Lage Award for athletic-academic excellence in 2025. Hurdsman has also been named Academic All-Big 12 twice and was the recipient of the Cameron Tucket Award in 2026. Before transferring to BYU in 2024, he played in 25 games at Utah Tech as a freshman in 2023, where he hit .299 with 19 runs and 16 RBI. Over his four-year career, Hursdman hit .301 with 17 home runs, 42 doubles, 96 RBI and scored 117 runs.
HANSEN, a sophomore from Colorado Springs, Colorado, has a 3.83 GPA in pre-business. In his first full season as a starter, Hansen appeared in 48 games with 39 starts at first base and designated hitter. The sophomore from Colorado Springs, Colorado, hit .255 this season with 21 RBI, nine doubles, four home runs and scored 23 runs. In two seasons as a Cougar, he has played in 66 games with 42 hits, 10 doubles, five home runs and 24 RBI.
BELL, a redshirt sophomore from St. George, Utah, has a 3.67 cumulative GPA in exercise and wellness. During the 2026 season, Bell appeared in 14 games with eight starts. He threw 36 1/3 innings, striking out 21 batters while compiling a 1-1 record and an ERA of 6.19. Over the past two seasons at BYU, Bell has made 23 appearances with 12 starts. He has thrown 55 1/3 innings and struck out 32 hitters.