University of Northern Iowa Athletics
UNI leads Big 12 wrestling with 17 Winter Academic Team honorees
4/30/2026 12:00:00 PM | Wrestling
IRVING, Tex. --- The University of Northern Iowa led all Big 12 Conference wrestling programs for a second straight year during the 2025-26 season with 17 Academic Team selections, as announced by the league office on Thursday.
Missouri followed Northern Iowa with 16 selections, with Arizona State earning 13 honorees, 12 from Utah Valley, 11 from North Dakota State and ten selections each from Cal Baptist and North Dakota State.
To qualify for the winter Academic Team, student-athletes must maintain a 3.20 grade-point average (GPA) or higher, either cumulative or over the two previous semesters, and must have participated in 20% of their team's scheduled contests. Freshmen are not eligible, while transfers in their first year of academic residence are eligible. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are also eligible.
Since joining the Big 12 in 2017-18 as an affiliate member, UNI has accumulated 126 total Academic All-Big 12 selections. Among the group of Panthers honored, RJ Weston was nominated with a 4.00 GPA, one of 21 wrestlers in the entire conference to post that high of an average.
UNI's 2026 Big 12 All-Academic Team Selections
- Trever Anderson - Management Information Systems / Marketing: Sales Management / Business Analytics
- Carson Babcock - Interdisciplinary Studies
- Ethan Basile - Criminology & Criminal Justice: Law Enforcement
- Ryder Downey - Public Health
- Julian Farber - Business Administration
- Nick Fox - Management, Advertisement & Digital Media / Management: Business Administration
- Kyle Gollhofer - Kinesiology & Exercise Science
- John Gunderson - Kinesiology & Exercise Science
- Cory Land - Physical Education and Kinesiology & Exercise Science
- Cael Rahnavardi - Psychology
- Kalob Runyon - Kinesiology & Exercise Science
- Jared Simma - Sport Administration
- Grant Stromberg - Management: Business Administration and Supply Chain Management
- Connor Thorpe - Kinesiology & Exercise Science
- Wyatt Voelker - Kinesiology & Exercise Science
- CJ Walrath - Kinesiology & Exercise Science
- RJ Weston * - Kinesiology & Sport Performance
* Nominated with a 4.00 GPA
UNI wrestling action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (University of Northern Iowa Wrestling), X (@UNI_wrestling) and on Instagram (@uni_panther_wrestling). Check out the latest Panther news and information online at UNIpanthers.com.
Players Mentioned
