Ducks star shortstop Maddox Molony earns Academic All-American

 Maddox Molony hit 15 home runs for the Ducks in his sophomore season. Destined to be a first-round pick in the 2026 Major League Baseball draft, this week he was named an Academic All-American.
Maddox Molony hit 15 home runs for the Ducks in his sophomore season. Destined to be a first-round pick in the 2026 Major League Baseball draft, this week he was named an Academic All-American. | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oregon shortstop Maddox Molony belted 15 home runs this year for the Ducks, two in one game in the championship-clinching series with Iowa in May. Last season he set the program record for freshmen with 10, named to the Baseball Writers' Freshman All-America team.

On Tuesday Molony picked up another honor, earning second team Academic All-American from College Sports Communicators, just the second player in program history to achieve that. He's a multi-disciplinary science major with 3.88 GPA to go along with his .309 batting average.

Baseball runs deep in his family. His grandfather Ron played catcher and first base for the Ducks in the '60s. His brother Connor is a star pitcher for the Thurston Colts, just eight miles from PK Park. His father Ryan played at Lane Community College.

The two Molony boys won a state title together at Thurston in 2023, where Maddox was a two-time 5A State Player of the Year. Next season they'll play together for the Ducks, but it'll be a short stint as teammates: Maddox is a sure-fire first round draft pick in the 2026 Major League draft.

As a Duck he forms a stellar double-play combination with Jesuit High grad Ryan Cooney. "Iron sharpens iron. We push each other," Molony said.

This summer Molony is honing his game in the Cape Cod League in Massachusetts. He plays for the Harwich Mariners in a wood-bat league of college stars and future pros. In June he clubbed the team's first home run of the year at home, ripping a high fast ball and sending it over the left field fence.

His junior year will be his last for the Ducks. He and his brother and roommate Cooney will be eyeing another Big Ten title and the national championship.

Grandparents Ron and Melinda rarely miss a game, either at PK Park or on Big Ten Plus when the team is away. Maddox told Steve Mims of the Springfield Chronicle, β€œIt means a lot because baseball has a lot of ups and downs, it is a hard sport. You know that you will have their support after every game is great. They are a constant presence and always encouraging us.”

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