Courtesy of San Diego State Athletics

DALLAS – After a highly successful 2026 campaign, the San Diego State baseball program merited additional postseason acclaim after relief pitcher Aidan Russell earned third-team All-America honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

With his selection, Russell becomes the Aztecs’ first All-American since TJ Fondtain received the distinction from multiple outlets in 2023.

Now in its 27th season, the NCBWA Division I All-America baseball squads (first, second and third teams) feature standout players from 50 schools and 19 athletic conferences. Russell was the lone Mountain West student-athlete to garner All-America accolades from the NCBWA.

A second-team all-Mountain West honoree, Russell appeared in 21 games in 2026, compiling a 6-2 record with a 2.53 ERA, 49 strikeouts and a stellar 0.77 WHIP. The recent SDSU graduate topped the conference with six saves and shared the team lead with six victories, which was tied for third in the league.

Russell burst onto the national scene early in the season when he made arguably his biggest career save, preserving the Aztecs’ 4-3 victory at then-No. 1 UCLA on Feb. 24 after retiring all 11 batters he faced.

For his efforts, Russell earned the first of two straight Mountain West Pitcher of the Week awards and was named to College Baseball Foundation’s National of Pitcher of the Year Watch List.

Not to be outdone, Russell was one of five hurlers who combined on SDSU’s 10th no-hitter in program history when the Scarlet and Black posted a 1-0 shutout of UC Riverside at home on April 7. The Aztec right-hander pitched the ninth inning of that contest, highlighted by two strikeouts looking.

Russell also closed out SDSU’s home finale against San José State, helping the Scarlet and Black clinch the Mountain West regular-season championship after tossing four scoreless innings.

With Russell anchoring the bullpen, San Diego State led the conference in several pitching categories, including walks allowed per nine innings (3.75), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.38) and WHIP (1.41), which ranked 37th, 44th and 48th in the nation, respectively as of June 7. In addition, the Aztecs topped the MW in hits allowed per nine innings (8.90) and ERA (5.12), which were slotted 70th and 76th in the country, respectively.

Under the guidance of Mountain West Coach of the Year Kevin Vance, SDSU finished with a 36-24 overall mark, its best record since the 2018 campaign.

Next season, the Aztecs will move to the Pac-12 Conference, joining Dallas Baptist, Fresno State, Gonzaga, Oregon State, Texas State and Washington State in baseball competition.

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NCBWA membership includes writers, broadcasters and publicists. Designed to promote and publicize college baseball, it is the sport’s only college media-related organization and was founded in 1962.