UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State baseball senior Michael Anderson was honored with an All-Big Ten first-team selection as a utility player on Tuesday. Redshirt senior Ben DeMell was Penn State’s Sportsmanship Award honoree.
Anderson is Penn State’s 18th All-Big Ten first-team honoree. Joining Paxton Kling in 2025, Penn State has first-team All-Big Ten selections in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2011-12 (Sean Deegan in 2011, Jordan Steranka in 2012).
In three seasons under head coach Mike Gambino, the program has earned eight All-Big Ten honors (Anderson, Kling first-team; Adam Cecere, J.T. Marr, Jack Porter second-team; Bryce Molinaro third-team; Kling all-defensive team; Mason Horwat freshman team).
Michael Anderson · Sr. · DH · 6-3 · 230 · Havertown, Pa. · Monsignor Bonner
First Team
- Finished his collegiate career with a .308 average, .616 slugging percentage and .422 on-base percentage.
- Tallied 173 hits with 38 doubles, three triples and 43 home runs. Collected 137 RBI and 120 runs.
- Among current D1 players, Anderson ranks 35th in career home runs (43; tied-third among Big Ten players) and one of 34 players (one of four Big Ten) with 43+ home runs and 137+ RBI in their career.
- In 2026, Anderson batted .358 with 68 hits, 11 doubles, 20 home runs, 53 RBI, 43 runs, a .742 slugging percentage and a .470 on base percentage.
- In Big Ten games, he hit .367 with 10 doubles, 11 home runs, 30 RBI, a .725 slugging percentage and a .450 on base percentage.
- He led the Nittany Lions in average, hits, runs, RBI, home runs, total bases (141), hit-by-pitches (18), slugging percentage and on base percentage.
- Anderson set Penn State season records with 20 home runs and 18 hit-by-pitches, while ranking fourth in a season in slugging percentage and total bases.
- The PA native led the Big Ten in OPS (1.212; 18th nationally) and total bases (141; 41st), while sitting second in home runs (20; 17th) and slugging percentage (.742; 22nd), third in home runs per game (0.40; 17th), fifth in on base percentage (.470), sixth in hit-by-pitches (18), seventh in RBI per game (1.06) and ninth in batting average (.358) and RBI (53).
- He is one of two D1 players this season averaging 414+ feet on 20+ home runs.
- Anderson tallied 24 multi-hit games, 15 multi-RBI games and three multi-homer games this season.
Ben DeMell · R-Sr. · RHP · 6-5 · 205 · Concord, Ohio · Gilmour Academy
Sportsmanship Award
- DeMell graduated in May 2025 with his bachelor’s degree in communication arts & sciences and completed his grad certificate in real estate law and valuation.
- He is a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection.
- DeMell has made 81 career appearances (5 starts) at Penn State.
- He collected eight wins and five saves while being part of two shutouts.
- DeMell recorded 112 career strikeouts in 120.2 innings.
- His 81 career pitching appearances rank fourth all-time at Penn State.
- In 2026, he earned two wins and a save in 23 appearances while striking out 25 batters in 29 innings.
Penn State won 16 games in 2026, including three over RPI Top-100 teams.
The Nittany Lions finished the year with 72 home runs, including 20 by Anderson, 15 by Bryce Molinaro and 10 by Spencer Barnett.
Over the last three seasons, PSU has slugged 224 home runs, including 71 in 2024, 81 in 2025 and 72 in 2026. Nine Nittany Lions have hit 10+ home runs in a season.
Molinaro ended the year ranking second all-time at Penn State with 39 career home runs and became the second Nittany Lion to hit 10+ home runs in three-straight seasons.
For updates on the Penn State baseball team, please check @pennstatebase on X and Instagram.
The 2026 Penn State baseball season is presented by The Family Clothesline.