KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The NAIA announced all recipients of scholar-athlete distinction for the 2025 fall season, which includes 53 total student-athletes from Dakota Wesleyan University.
To qualify as an 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. Dakota Wesleyan had the most representation from football, with 22 members named scholar-athletes. Volleyball had 14, while both men's and women's soccer each had eight, and women's cross country had one.
Athletic Director Ross Cimpl noted all the factors that go into achieving scholar-athlete status and praised all those involved in the process.
"We are extremely proud of our student-athletes receiving this well-deserved recognition. We have an incredible support system for our athletes to be successful, with our coaches, professors, and support staff truly caring about the success of our athletes in the classroom. The schedules and demands of being a student-athlete are real, and make this recognition even more impressive."
The full Dakota Wesleyan University Fall 2025 NAIA Scholar-Athlete list is as follows.
Football NAIA Scholar-Athletes: Ben Albrecht, Braylon Vancura, Brenden Gregory, Brodey Ballinger, Caleb Kilbride, Carson Leonhardt, Chase McGillivary, Cole Holden, Cole Morrelli, David Hondel Jr., Gavin Pischke, Grayson Hanson, Jack Driskill, Jestin Bayer, Kaleb Krein, Koby Kayser, Landon Ruesink, Sean DeBlieck, Tate Eidhammer, Trevor Sladky, Triston Butler, Wesley Smith
Volleyball NAIA Scholar-Athletes: Abigail Zegar, Carlee Laubach, Elizabeth Tyler, Emily Dale, Evy Knoblock, Karly VanDerWerff, Kayleigh Hybertson, Lily Ranschau, Natalie Heuertz, Olivia Bures, Payton Moser, Presley Knecht, Presly Pastian, Tessa Bulson
Men's Soccer NAIA Scholar-Athletes: Coben Colson, David Lennon, Korbinian Rieder, Luis Waeschle, Lukas Widmark, Ryan Ford, Samuel Camey, Vincent Wagner
Women's Soccer NAIA Scholar-Athletes: Abigail Colgrove, Annika Enevoldsen, Esmeralda Guzman-Garcia, Genesis Mendez, Hannah Petrucci, Meghan Hutchison, Mikayla Adams, Sydney Pike
Women's Cross Country NAIA Scholar-Athlete: Hailey Oswald
DWU's scholar-athletes were among 6,486 awarded for the fall 2025 season. You can read the NAIA's full release here.