University of Northern Iowa Athletics
Six Panthers selected to College Sports Communicators Basketball Academic All-District Teams
3/24/2026 11:16:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- Six members of the UNI men's and women's basketball teams were recognized by College Sports Communicators (CSC) with Academic All-District Team selections on Tuesday.
The CSC Academic All-District Team recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the court and in the classroom. On the men's side, Panther student-athletes Will Hornseth, Ismael Diouf and Kyle Pock were named to the team, while Ryley Goebel, Kaylynn Janes and Taryn Wharton were recognized on the women's team.
In addition to All-District honors, Hornseth and Goebel were also named finalists for CSC Academic All-American honors as well.
Nomination criteria include holding a cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of 3.50 or better, being a sophomore standing or higher both academically and athletically and playing in at least 90% or starting at least 66% of their team's games this season.
Hornseth, a sophomore forward from De Pere, Wisconsin, earns his first CSC Academic All-District honor after a breakout season with 11.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. A member of this year's Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Most Improved Team, Hornseth shot 60.1% from the field this year, the ninth-best single-season mark in team history while scoring ten or more points in 15 of his last 17 games.
Diouf, a senior forward who joined the Panthers as a transfer from North Carolina State, also earns his first all-district academic award after appearing in 35 games for UNI. The Saint-Jean-Sur Richelieu, Quebec native averaged three points and 1.2 rebounds a game in his lone season with the Panthers, which featured a season-high ten points at Saint Mary's (12/22/25).
Pock, a junior forward from Bolivar, Missouri, picks up his second CSC Academic All-District nod after a season averaging 3.6 points and one assist a game off the bench. An MVC Scholar-Athlete honoree, Pock scored a career-high 15 points with four made three-pointers against Tulsa in the championship of the Acrisure Holiday Invitational in November.
Goebel, the 2026 MVC Defensive Player of the Year and a First Team All-MVC selection, posted 14.2 points per game along with eight rebounds per contests, while also ranking fourth in the nation with 85 total blocks on the year. A member of this year's MVC Scholar-Athlete Team, this is Goebel's second CSC Academic All-District selection.
Janes, a sophomore forward from St. Louis and MVC Scholar-Athlete Team honoree, notched 6.7 points and 1.3 rebounds per game appearing in all 32 games for the Panthers this year. She notably scored a career-high 17 points in UNI's Feb. 12 win over Indiana State with five made three-pointers.
Wharton, a Bellevue, Nebraska native and senior guard, started all 32 games for Northern Iowa this year with 7.9 points and 2.5 rebounds a game, while dishing out a team-high 87 assists. In a Feb. 28 matchup against UIC, Wharton scored a season-high 22 points with eight made shots.
College Sports Communicators' Academic All-America Team selections will be voted on and announced in mid-April.
UNI men's and women's basketball action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Men's Basketball / UNI Women's Basketball), X (@UNImbb / @UNIwbb) and on Instagram (@uni_basketball / @uni_wbb). Schedule and roster information, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
