Five members of the University of Rochester baseball program: graduate Sammy Smith, seniors Colby Cruser, Alexander Gonzalo and Sammy Rosenfield and sophomore Sammy Besztery earned College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honors for their efforts on the diamond and in the classroom, as announced by CSC on Tuesday.
 
The 2024-25 CSC Academic All-District® Baseball Teams recognize the nation's top student-athletes. To be nominated, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically and have a 3.50 cumulative grade point average. Position players must have competed in at least 90 percent or must have started at least 66 percent of an institution's contests, while pitchers must have made at least 17 appearances or pitched at least 35 innings.
 
Smith, a graduate transfer from Middlebury, slashed .276/.429/.357 in his lone season with the Yellowjackets. Appearing in and starting 31 games, the Newton, CT native tallied 27 hits, three doubles, a triple, a home run, 18 runs scored and 12 RBI, while walking 21 times and drawing six hit-by-pitches. Smith had seven multi-hit and three multi-RBI games for the 'Jackets, and ended the year on a 13-game on-base streak.
 
At Middlebury, Smith was a four-time New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) All-Academic selection and earned Liberty League All-Academic honors this season. A finance major, Smith is a member of the Simon School Venture Capital Fund and previously interned with the New Britain Bees and the Venture Fund.
 
The 2025 Liberty League Co-Player of the Year, Cruser earned All-Liberty League honors both as a designated hitter and reliever, as well as Second Team All-Region honors from both the American Baseball Coaches Association and D3baseball.com. At the plate, Cruser hit .385 with a .435 on-base percentage and a .558 slugging, going 40-for-104 with nine doubles, three home runs, 19 runs scored and 19 RBI. While on the mound, Cruser was 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA and 0.90 WHIP in 20.0 innings pitched, striking out 27 batters and walking just two en route to a pair of saves.
 
A political science major, Cruser conducted research with Professor Gerald Gamm on state legislatures and party platforms and received both the Laurin Taylor Frisina '06 Ventura Award and Helen S. Jones Prize for showing significant achievement in Political Science. Cruser is a three-time Liberty League All-Academic honoree and received Lysle 'Spike' Garnish Scholar-Athlete honors this past fall. While this coming fall, Cruser will be attending law school at the University of Pittsburgh.
 
Gonzalo had a breakout campaign for Rochester in 2025, batting .347 (42-for-121) with nine doubles, a team-high five home runs, 21 runs scored and a team-best 21 RBI. Gonzalo drew 18 walks and nine hit-by-pitches for a .451 on-base percentage and slugged .545, while stealing seven bases in as many attempts. The senior appeared in and started all 33 games, making 29 starts at third base and four at third.
 
Off the field, Gonzalo did research with Professor Gamm and earned his bachelor's degree in finance. The Park Ridge, IL native is a three-time Liberty League All-Academic selection, and received the Dean's Scholarship all four years at UR. Previously, Gonzalo interned as a Credit Analyst and Financial Analyst at a commercial bank, while the senior has also volunteered with his local church back home, St. Paul of the Cross.
 
Rosenfield quickly became UR's staff ace this season, going 2-2 with a 3.47 ERA and 1.33 WHIP en route to First-Team All-Liberty League honors. In 46.2 innings pitched, Rosenfield allowed just 18 earned runs on 38 runs, walking 24 and striking out 55, making nine starts and 10 total appearances on the mound. The senior held opponents to a .232 opponent batting average and turned in a pair of one-hit outings against conference foes Hobart and St. Lawrence.
 
Double majoring in political science and environmental studies, Rosenfield is a three-time member of the Liberty League All-Academic Team and received both the Richard and Nancy Fenno Summer Fellowship Award and the Laurin Taylor Frisina '06 Ventura Award. Away from the diamond, Rosenfield did research on social issues with Professor Gamm and previously interned with the Office of Senator Michael O. Moore as a legislative research intern.
 
Besztery started every game at shortstop for the Yellowjackets this season, slashing .292/.366/.387 with 40 hits, 10 doubles, a home run, a team-high 33 runs scored and 22 RBI. The sophomore drew seven walks and nine hit-by-pitches while striking out just 13 times, had six sacrifice bunts and stole seven bases in eight attempts. Besztery hit .301 in conference play, and had 12 multi-hit and five multi-RBI games.
 
Off the field, Besztery, a double major in data science and economics, earned Liberty League All-Academic honors this year, and volunteers back home in Chicago, IL, with Cradles to Crayons, Soldiers' Angels and the Chicago Food Depository.
 
Academic All-District selections will be evaluated by a subcommittee and advanced to the national All-America ballot, to be voted on by CSC members within their respective divisions.
 
The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes baseball honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.