A talented trio of Abilene Christian Wildcats baseball players have been recognized for their outstanding individual seasons by the Western Athletic Conference.
ACU junior starting pitcher Dominick Reid, senior shortstop Zandt Payne and freshman outfielder Braden Regala were each awarded All-WAC honors for their performance during conference play this season, while five additional Wildcats were honored with All-WAC Tournament Team selections.
Reid, Payne and Regala helped the Wildcats (34-23, 15-9 WAC) capture a share of the WAC regular season conference title, representing ACU’s first baseball regular-season conference championship since 2021 when Abilene Christian played in the Southland Conference.
The Wildcats also advanced to the championship game of the 2025 WAC Baseball Tournament before being eliminated by Utah Valley in an 11-9 loss.
Reid and Payne both locked up First Team All-WAC recognition for Abilene Christian, while Regala received WAC All-Defensive Team honors.
Payne and Reid also headlined a list of five Wildcats who earned All-WAC Tournament Team selections including senior pitcher Chandler Benson, junior designated hitter/outfielder Diego Cardenas and junior infielder Grant Watkins.
Reid — a right-handed pitcher who played high school baseball at Frisco Lone Star — became a key transfer portal addition for ACU this spring after spending the first two years of his college career at Oklahoma State.
He went 4-3 in 12 total pitching appearances for the Wildcats during his junior season. Reid recorded a 3.27 ERA, boasted a .221 opponents’ batting average and tallied 91 strikeouts through 71⅔ innings pitched.
Payne — a product of Edmond, Oklahoma — transferred to Abilene Christian from Dodge City Community College in Kansas ahead of his junior season in 2024. He made a big impact for ACU right off the bat as a junior and then further elevated his game during a stellar senior year.
Payne led the Wildcats in batting average (.376) and ranked second on the team in OPS (1.040) and fielding percentage (.968) too. He finished a strong senior season going 56-for-149 at the plate with 39 RBIs, 36 runs scored, 17 extra-base hits and 10 stolen bases
Regala — a former Abilene Wylie standout and the older brother of Wylie sophomore Dylan Regala — made an instant impact for Abilene Christian during his first college season.
The freshman outfielder led the Wildcats and was tied for first in the WAC with a perfect fielding percentage (1.000). He registered 137 putouts, leading all WAC players, and also recorded three outfield assists.
Regala finished his freshman campaign with a .295 batting average and a .725 OPS after going 57-for-193 at the plate with 38 runs scored, 24 RBIs, six doubles, a home run and a team-leading 29 stolen bases (.879 success rate).
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene Christian baseball: Trio of Wildcats recognized with 2025 All-WAC Baseball honors
Reporting by Andrew McCulloch, Abilene Reporter-News / Abilene Reporter-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
