AVCA Team Academic Award Winners

Lexington, Ky.----The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced the 2025 Team Academic Award winners Monday afternoon, and for the 12th consecutive year Wingate University has earned Team Academic honors. The Bulldogs posted a 3.67 GPA for the 2024-25 academic year.

The Team Academic Award, which was initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that displayed excellence in the classroom during the school year by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale. In 2025, a record-breaking 1,450 collegiate and high school volleyball teams maintained a year-long grade-point average of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale (or 4.1 on a 5.0 scale), to earn the 2025 AVCA Team Academic Award.

"It is very exciting to see that the record-setting, on-court successes during the 2024-25 season have extended to the classroom," says AVCA CEO Jaime Gordon. "The fact that more programs earned the Team Academic Award than ever before is evidence of how committed our coaches are when it comes to helping their players reach their goals as both students and athletes."

The SAC and region champion Bulldogs posted a 3.659 GPA during the fall, then compiled a 3.681 team GPA during the spring. The 'Dogs had 16 student-athletes earn a spot on the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll for 2024-25. In addition, Sydney Morland earned third team Academic All-America accolades.

Wingate got it done on the court as well in 2024, going 31-3 overall while capturing the 18th regular season SAC title in 19 years, then adding a 14th SAC Tourney championship in 19 years. The 'Dogs earned hosting duties at the NCAA Southeast Regionals, capturing the seventh region title in program history to punch a ticket to the national quarterfinals.

Morland was named an AVCA second team All-American, with Maya Van Heyst collecting third team honors. Morland was named the SAC and Region Player of the Year. Both student-athletes also earned a spot on the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll, with cumulative GPAs over 3.8. In addition, AVCA honorable mention All-Americans Maddie Hoffman, Emily Johnson and Gabby Saye also were named to the SAC Commissioner's Honor Roll.

ABOUT AVCA 

The AVCA, with its headquarters in Lexington, Ky., is managed by Associations International. The mission of the AVCA is to advance the sport of volleyball with AVCA coaches at the epicenter of leadership, advocacy and professional development. With a membership of over 7,000 and counting, the AVCA provides a professional network for those individuals and companies dedicated to enhancing and promoting the sport. Members include collegiate, high school, club, youth and Olympic coaches, as well as volleyball club directors. The AVCA provides education to volleyball coaches, recognition of elite players and coaches, promotion of volleyball competitions throughout the world, and networking opportunities for volleyball products and services providers. Further information is available at www.avca.org.

WINGATE UNIVERSITY

Wingate University is a lab of difference-making that serves more than 3,400 students in North Carolina and offers 60 degree pathways, including 37 undergraduate majors, 10 pre-professional tracks and five dual-degree programs. Graduate students choose from seven master's and five doctoral programs. The University is home to the Cannon College of Arts and Sciences, the Levine College of Health Sciences, the Byrum School of Business, the Thayer School of Education and the School of Sport Sciences.
 
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a leader in healthcare education where nearly one in five undergraduate students is preparing to be a pharmacist, physician assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist or nurse. Student-athletes on Wingate's 30 teams compete in NCAA Division II and have brought home the SAC Echols Athletic Excellence Award the past 17 times it has been awarded. The University's motto is "Faith, Knowledge, Service." View current news and videos at www.wingate.edu.