Baseball

UW-Whitewater’s Thies Named Baseball Max Sparger Scholar Athlete

MADISON, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Whitewater’s Andy Thies has been named the recipient of the 2026 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Baseball Max Sparger Scholar-Athlete Award.
 
A senior from Tallahassee, Fla. (Tallahassee Lawton Chiles), Thies is majoring in accounting and maintains a 3.642 grade point average. He secured a spot on the 2025 NCAA Division III Academic All-America® Baseball Second Team, selected by the College Sports Communicators. Thies is a two-time Academic All-District® First Team honoree and three-time member of the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll. He was named a UW-Whitewater Chancellor’s Scholar Athlete in 2025 and has received academic scholarships. Thies has appeared on UW-Whitewater’s Dean’s List numerous semesters.
 
Thies is a two-time D3baseball.com All-American, securing third team honors in 2025 and landing on the fourth team in 2024. He received All-Region recognition from D3baseball.com and the American Baseball Coaches Association both years. Thies helped UW-Whitewater win the 2025 NCAA Division III Championship after finishing as the national runner-up in 2024. A team captain this season, he earned All-WIAC first team honors for the second time in his career (2024) and was a honorable mention choice in 2025. Thies has helped the Warhawks win three straight WIAC regular-season championships and tournament titles.
 
Off the diamond, Thies has worked as a camp counselor for Warhawk Baseball Camps since 2022.
 
Also nominated for this year’s scholar-athlete award were: UW-Eau Claire’s Austin Buck (Sr., Afton, Minn./Stillwater); UW-La Crosse’s Owen Deprez (Sr., New Franken, Wis./Luxemburg-Casco); UW-Oshkosh’s Owen Housinger (Sr., Hawthorn Woods, Ill./Stevenson); UW-Platteville’s Connor Gresens (Jr., Rochester, N.Y./Rochester Irondequoit); UW-Stevens Point’s Joe Schneider (Sr., Rhinelander, Wis./Rhinelander); and UW-Stout’s Nathan Weckop (Sr., Hampton, Minn./Randolph).

The WIAC Scholar-Athlete Award is named after Max Sparger, who served as commissioner of the Wisconsin State University Conference for 22 years from 1971-93. He oversaw the transition of the conference from NAIA to full NCAA membership. Sparger arrived at UW-Stout in 1959 and served the institution in a variety of capacities, including an assistant football and basketball coach, head wrestling coach and head football coach. He served as UW-Stout's athletics director from 1969-71 and was inducted into the WIAC Hall of Fame in 2012.
 
In order to be nominated for the scholar-athlete award, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.50 grade point average. In addition, he must be in his last year of competition, or on schedule to graduate this academic year, and have competed for a minimum of two years. The award is based on academic achievements, athletics accomplishments and involvement in other campus activities, organizations and community service projects.
 
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