FULLERTON – Hope International led all programs with three selections to the 2026 NAIA Baseball Preseason All-American Team, as announced on Wednesday by the NAIA office.
Senior pitcher Josh Landry, senior first baseman Colby Moran and junior outfielder David Shackelford headlined the exclusive 17-player team.
The three Royals – who played on the NAIA Avista World Series qualifier from last season – were selected by the NAIA Baseball Coaches Association (NAIA-BCA) All-America Committee.
In all, 10 NAIA conferences are represented, led by four selections from the Great Southwest Athletic Conference.
Landry, who was tabbed an NAIA Second Team All-American in 2025, returns as the ace of the HIU staff. The southpaw posted an 11-2 record with a 2.51 ERA , tallying 98 strikeouts in 82.1 innings pitched. A Long Beach native, he ranks tied for second in program history for single-season wins and third in ERA. His .194 opponent against average also puts him sixth on the HIU single-season list. Landry enters the 2026 campaign with a 16-4 record, needing eight wins to become the all-time program leader. He also ranks third as a Royal with 184 career strikeouts, 90 shy of the school record.
Moran, a transfer from Northwest Nazarene, hit .390 with 10 doubles, 12 home runs and a team-best 69 RBI in 2025 to earn All-GSAC accolades. He posted multiple RBI in 17 games, including a career-high five against Embry-Riddle. The Murrieta native boasted an 11-game hit streak at one point and homered against Cumberlands (Ky.) in the NAIA Avista World Series. Moran finished among the HIU single-season leaders in several categories, including average (8th), slugging percentage (8th, .661) on base percentage (6th, .483), home runs (t-10th), RBI (2nd) and total bases (t-10th).
The reigning GSAC Player of the Year, Shackelford led the Royals in five offensive categories – average (.406), runs scored (74), hits (78), walks (53) and on base percentage (.543). He also was successful on 19 of 21 stolen base attempts. Hailing from La Habra, Shackelford posted 25 multi-hit games, which included a 4-for-4 performance against The Master's. He also had an 18-game hitting streak. Shackelford landed on the HIU single-season charts in multiple categories, including average (3rd), on base percentage (2nd), stolen base percentage (.905, 7th), games played (58, t-4th), games started (58, t-3rd), runs scored (2nd), hits (7th), triples (2, t-9th), total bases (118, 9th), walks (1st) and stolen bases (5th).
The Royals begin the 2026 season on Friday, January 23 with a doubleheader at Simpson.
