Manias Earns Academic All-America Acclaim

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Aaron Manias’ 4.0 grade-point average in the classroom at Purdue coupled with a 1.000 OPS at the plate earned the slugger Academic All-America accolades for his dual excellence.

Manias was recognized as the third-team designated hitter. He made 18 of his 36 starts at DH while also seeing action in left field and at second base. Manias played in 50 of Purdue’s 54 games total during his first season with the program.

Teammates Brandon Anderson, Albert Choi, Isaac Milburn and Keenan Spence joined Manias as Academic All-District honorees this season. Anderson and Choi also had 4.0 GPAs while earning graduate certificates at Purdue.

Manias is a selling and sales management major in the College of Health and Human Sciences in West Lafayette. Before enrolling at Purdue, Manias compiled a 4.0 GPA during his two years at Howard College in Texas and a 3.82 GPA while spending the 2023-24 school year at the University of Nebraska.

Academic All-America and Academic All-District honorees are awarded by the College Sports Communicators. To be eligible, student-athletes must have compiled a 3.5-plus cumulative grade point average at their current university while being a starter or key contributor on the field (freshmen are ineligible). A national vote of the top Academic All-District honorees in turn populates the Academic All-America teams.

Manias is Purdue Baseball’s second Academic All-America honoree this decade, joining Jackson Smeltz (third-team pitcher) in 2022. Smeltz was also an All-Big Ten performer that season and went on to be drafted by the San Diego Padres that summer.

Manias is the program’s first position player to be an Academic All-American since second baseman David Blomberg in 2001. Boilermakers Al Smith (1984) and Dave Barrett (1991) were also Academic All-Americans as DHs.

Manias posted a .294/.430/.579 slash line for a 1.009 OPS, joining Logan Sutter (1.180) as Purdue hitters with a 1.000-plus OPS this season. Manias connected for nine doubles and nine home runs, ranking third on the team with 43 RBI.

Despite not making his first start for Purdue until March 1, Manias played his way into the lineup with a breakout week that saw him erupt for 10 hits and 13 RBI as the Boilers won three of four vs. Indiana State and Minnesota during their first week in the Midwest (March 4-9). He was 4-for-5 with three doubles, a home run and eight RBI in the victory in Terre Haute. The Gophers were unable to cool him off as Manias went 5-for-12 with a double, grand slam and five RBI in the conference-opening series inside U.S. Bank Stadium.

When CJ Richmond returned to the lineup after an injury sidelined him for all of March, Manias got an opportunity in the outfield starting with Purdue’s series at Washington the first weekend of April. He made a quick adjustment to the position change and went on to start 16 of the Boilers’ 22 games in left field from April 6 to May 15 – including all three games of the series wins vs. Rutgers and Northwestern at Alexander Field. He also batted .452 (14-for-31) with four home runs, 14 RBI and just one strikeout from April 27 to May 15.

Manias was among the program-record 28 Academic All-Big Ten honorees and will also be recognized as a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar later this month.

Around the Big Ten, Manias joined Oregon’s Maddox Molony (second-team infielder) and Michigan State’s Joseph Dzierwa (third-team pitcher) on the Academic All-America teams.

Manias and Richmond are projected to be among Purdue’s top returnees at the plate for the 2026 season.