2025 NAIA Winter Sport Daktronics Scholar-Athletes
The NAIA proudly announces the 2025 Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes for winter sports. This honor recognizes student-athletes in each of the winter sports who have excelled academically, including men's basketball, women's basketball, men's bowling, women's bowling, competitive cheer, competitive dance, men's swimming and diving, women's swimming and diving, men's wrestling and women's wrestling. Thirty-seven student-athletes from California Pacific Conference institutions earned recognition on the prestigious postseason list. UC Merced totaled 10 student-athlete qualifiers, and Simpson and Soka each had nine.
To qualify as a Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athlete, students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale, appear on the eligibility certificate for their sport, and have attended their institution for at least one full year. This year, the list features an impressive number of student-athletes who have met these rigorous standards.
Women's Basketball boasted the highest number of scholar-athletes, totaling 935. Men's Basketball followed with a total of 626 total scholar-athletes.
Grand View (Iowa) had the highest number of scholar-athletes at 82. St. Ambrose, Concordia (Neb.) and Cumberlands (Ky.) followed with a total of scholar-athletes in the 60s with 66, 65 and 61, respectively.
The Heart of America Athletic Conference led the pack at the conference level with 361 scholar-athletes. The Mid-South Conference followed with 317 scholar-athletes.
CALIFORNIA PACIFIC CONFERENCE 2025 WINTER DAKTRONICS NAIA SCHOLAR-ATHLETES
|
Name |
Institution |
Class |
Sport |
|
Illyaas Rafiq |
Cal Maritime |
Senior |
Men's Basketball |
|
Alexis Gonzalez |
La Sierra |
Sophomore |
Women's Basketball |
|
Kaydn Mew |
La Sierra |
Senior |
Women's Basketball |
|
Luiza Rodrigues |
La Sierra |
Graduate |
Women's Basketball |
|
Triston Broughton |
La Sierra |
Graduate |
Men's Basketball |
|
Tyler Broughton |
La Sierra |
Graduate |
Men's Basketball |
|
Drey Ubas |
Simpson |
Senior |
Men's Basketball |
|
Elisa Heidebrecht |
Simpson |
Junior |
Competitive Cheer |
|
Faria Rashid |
Simpson |
Sophomore |
Competitive Cheer |
|
Kellen Torrey |
Simpson |
Sophomore |
Men's Basketball |
|
Natalie Brown |
Simpson |
Senior |
Women's Basketball |
|
Nikki Thompson |
Simpson |
Senior |
Women's Basketball |
|
Nisha Kang |
Simpson |
Senior |
Women's Basketball |
|
Pablo Correa Gallardo |
Simpson |
Junior |
Men's Basketball |
|
Tessa Kinney |
Simpson |
Senior |
Women's Basketball |
|
Beatriz Ulian Vilanova |
Soka |
Junior |
Women's Swimming & Diving |
|
Gabriel Orozco |
Soka |
Sophomore |
Men's Swimming & Diving |
|
Hailey Pistochini |
Soka |
Sophomore |
Women's Swimming & Diving |
|
Jaeger Frazier |
Soka |
Junior |
Men's Swimming & Diving |
|
Mizuki Yano |
Soka |
Sophomore |
Women's Swimming & Diving |
|
Philips Ametsikor |
Soka |
Senior |
Men's Swimming & Diving |
|
Rion Kunimoto |
Soka |
Junior |
Men's Swimming & Diving |
|
Sushmita Khadka |
Soka |
Sophomore |
Women's Swimming & Diving |
|
Zachary Holt |
Soka |
Senior |
Men's Swimming & Diving |
|
Aidan Sevilla |
UC Merced |
Senior |
Men's Basketball |
|
Cam Brown |
UC Merced |
Junior |
Men's Basketball |
|
Cyprus Graham |
UC Merced |
Sophomore |
Men's Basketball |
|
Jaron Mertle |
UC Merced |
Graduate |
Men's Basketball |
|
Jonathan Taylor |
UC Merced |
Sophomore |
Men's Basketball |
|
Leilani Blecha |
UC Merced |
Sophomore |
Women's Basketball |
|
Megan Williams |
UC Merced |
Senior |
Women's Basketball |
|
Paloma Ramirez |
UC Merced |
Junior |
Women's Basketball |
|
Sarina Nagra |
UC Merced |
Sophomore |
Women's Basketball |
|
Tiler Fears |
UC Merced |
Senior |
Men's Basketball |
|
Margaret Lapray |
Westcliff |
Sophomore |
Women's Basketball |
|
Maria Munoz |
Westcliff |
Sophomore |
Women's Basketball |
|
Neyha Lali |
Westcliff |
Senior |
Women's Basketball |