Over One Thousand MIAA Newcomers Earned Academic Honors in 2025-26 Academic Year

6/30/2026 11:00:00 AM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association announced its Newcomer Academic Awards for the 2025-26 sports seasons. These awards include the Academic Excellence award recipients, Scholar-Athletes, and Academic Honor Roll members for all MIAA freshman and first-year transfers who competed in an NCAA Division II season during the 2025-26 academic year. 
 
A total of 1,337 MIAA newcomers were named to the Association’s 2025-26 Academic Honor Roll. There were also 91 first-year student-athletes named MIAA Scholar-Athletes and 145 who earned the league's prestigious Academic Excellence Award. To be considered for the MIAA’s Newcomer Academic Awards, true freshmen and first-year transfer student-athletes must have just completed two semesters, excluding summer terms, at their current MIAA institution in the 2025-26 academic year. 

Fort Hays State University led the MIAA with a total of 132 freshmen and first-year transfers receiving newcomer academic honors. Pittsburg State University finished close behind the Tigers with 129 newcomer academic honors, followed by Northwest Missouri State University with 127, the University of Central Missouri with 122, Washburn University with 116, and Emporia State University and Missouri Western State Unviersity both tallied 110 newcomer academic award recipients each. 
 
The Association’s prestigious Academic Excellence Award was awarded to 145 MIAA freshmen and first-year transfers. An MIAA Academic Excellence Award recipient must have a 4.00 GPA with at least two terms of grades reported at the certifying member institution, excluding summer terms. To see the full list of MIAA newcomers who received the Academic Excellence Award in the 2025-26 sports seasons, click here.
 
Ninety-one newcomers in the MIAA achieved Scholar-Athlete status in the 2025-26 academic year. To qualify as a Scholar-Athlete, an individual must have a grade point average of at least 3.50 with two terms of grades reported at the certifying member institution, excluding summer terms. Outside of the classroom, the newcomer must have also received All-MIAA honors to complete the Scholar-Athlete recognition. To view the 91 total freshman and first-year transfers who were crowned MIAA Scholar-Athletes, click here.

One-thousand and 337 MIAA newcomers were named to the 2025-26 Academic Honor Roll. To be recognized on the Academic Honor Roll, a student-athlete must have a grade point average of 3.00 with at least two terms completed at the certifying member institution, excluding summer terms. To view the complete list of freshman and first-year transfers who made it on the MIAA Academic Honor Roll, click here.
 
Only 16 MIAA newcomers (11 women, five men) received all three of the Association’s academic honors:
  • Ansley Giesselmann — Central Missouri, Women’s Golf, Sophomore, All-MIAA, 4.0 GPA, Marketing Major
  • Marianna Bizon — Central Missouri, Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field, Sophomore, All-MIAA, 4.0 GPA, International Studies Major
  • Haley Gallo — Central Oklahoma, Softball, Freshman, All-MIAA, 4.0 GPA, Biology Major
  • Mei Hasegawa — Central Oklahoma, Women’s Tennis, Junior, All-MIAA, 4.0 GPA, Kinesiology Major
  • Hannah Butterbaugh — Emporia State, Softball, Freshman, All-MIAA, 4.0 GPA, Biology Major
  • Olivia Mortensen — Fort Hays State, Women’s Basketball, Freshman, All-MIAA, 4.0 GPA, Health & Human Performance Major
  • Micah Kobuszewski — Missouri Western, Baseball, Senior, All-MIAA, 4.0 GPA, Biology Major
  • Konstantin Feiel — Northwest Missouri, Men’s Tennis, Freshman, All-MIAA, 4.0 GPA, Accounting Major
  • Kiki Witt — Northwest Missouri, Women’s Track & Field, Senior, All-MIAA, 4.0 GPA, Therapeutic Recreation Major
  • Braylon Brown — Pittsburg State, Men’s Track & Field, Freshman, All-MIAA, 4.0 GPA, Biology Major
  • Leo Chauchard — Pittsburg State, Men’s Track & Field, Graduate Student, All-MIAA, 4.0 GPA, Technology Major
  • Alexa Binkley — Pittsburg State, Women’s Track & Field, Freshman, All-MIAA, 4.0 GPA, Management Major
  • Jonas Sommer — Southern Arkansas, Men's Tennis, Freshman, All-MIAA, 4.0 GPA, Management Major 
  • Lilian Everley — Washburn, Women’s Soccer, Freshman, All-MIAA, 4.0 GPA, Kinesiology Major
  • Mariana Silva Balsa — Washburn, Women’s Tennis, All-MIAA, 4.0 GPA, Data Analytics Major
  • Jordyn Cleary — Washburn, Women’s Cross Country/Track & Field, Freshman, All-MIAA, 4.0 GPA, Mass Media Major
 
Academic honors for returning MIAA student-athletes were announced by sport earlier throughout the 2025-26 academic year. To view the returning MIAA student-athletes who received academic honors in their sport’s season, visit the links below:  
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