NEWARK, NJ - A program-record five NJIT baseball players were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® Team, it was announced on Tuesday.

Andrew Elcock, Aidan Kidd, Luke Longo, Ray Ortiz, and Grant Vurpillat each earned the honor, which is awarded to student-athletes with at least a 3.50 GPA that play a significant role on their team.

Longo, Ortiz, and Elcock have made up the top third of the NJIT batting order for most of the season, while Kidd has been the team's number two starting pitcher each weekend, and Vurpillat has served as the Highlanders closer. 

Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced June 7. A full list of CSC Academic All-District® honorees for baseball can be accessed here.

Five of the eight representatives from the America East came from NJIT, with the other three being student-athletes from Maine.

The Highlanders return to the diamond on Thursday when they close out the regular season with a three-game series at UAlbany. NJIT has clinched a spot in next week's America East Playoffs, which will be hosted by Binghamton from Wednesday, May 24, through Saturday, May 27.