FAIRFIELD, Conn_­. – The Fairfield University Baseball duo of Matthew Bucciero and Blake Helstetter were named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District team for their success on the field and in the classroom. The duo helped the Stags to the 2025 MAAC Championship and a NCAA Regional appearance while also tying the program's single-season record with 39 wins.
 
Bucciero helped guide the Stags to their first tournament title in nearly a decade by being named the MAAC Championship's Most Outstanding Player. He was also an All-MAAC First Team selection and finished the year with a team-high 15 homers and 67 RBI. He broke the program's all-time RBI record by driving in 168 runs in his career, besting the previous record that stood for nearly 25 years. He was also tops on the team in slugging percentage (.633) and on-base percentage (.462).
 
In the classroom, Bucciero has recorded a 3.82 GPA as a business major. He will also advance to the Academic All-America ballot.
 
"Matt was certainly the power hitting in the three-hole in our lineup," Head Coach Bill Currier said. "He was certainly one of the best and one of the most feared hitters in the league. He also did a great job in right field anchoring the position with five assists."
 
Helmstetter recorded the final nine outs of the MAAC Championship game, his third win of the 2025 campaign. He led all Fairfield pitchers with 25 appearances, striking out 32 batters in 36.1 innings. He did not allow an earned run in nine of his final 12 outings while pitching to a 1.79 ERA during that span. In his collegiate career, he recorded 15 wins with nearly 190 strikeouts.
 
As a graduate student, Helmstetter tallied a 3.59 GPA and received his Master's degree in finance.
 
"Blake was very effective out of the pen after being a starter last season," Coach Currier said. "He did a nice job controlling the run game and getting some key outs for us this year including being the winning pitcher in the championship game."
 
The duo helped the Stags to the 2025 MAAC Championship, the second tournament title in program history and the first since 2016. Fairfield punched their ticket to the NCAA Conway Regional, their third NCAA Regional appearance and their first since their At-Large bid in 2021.
 
In the classroom, the squad maintained a 3.50 GPA, the third-straight semester the squad has reached a 3.5 grade point average.