RINGS & DIPLOMARS: UTRGV STUDENT-ATHLETES PAIR CHAMPIONSHIP ATHLEITCS WITH ELITE ACADEMICS
RIO GRANDE VALLEY – Following an academic year that saw The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) win a department-record four team conference championships, the UTRGV Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced on Wednesday the department’s cumulative GPA now stands at 3.37, the highest it has been since the spring of 2020 (3.38), following a spring in which the Vaqueros combined for a 3.34 GPA, the program’s best since the spring of 2023 (3.34).
For the 2025-26 academic year, UTRGV student-athletes combined to post a 3.31 GPA.
A department record 249 student-athletes earned Athletic Director’s Honor Roll recognition by achieving a grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.25 while serving as full-time students as part of a team throughout the spring semester.
Additionally, 193 student-athletes earned Dean’s List honors with a GPA of at least 3.50, the second-highest total in department history, with 66 of them finishing with a perfect GPA of 4.0.
By percentage, 66.94% of student-athletes earned a spot on the AD Honor Roll, 51.88% earned Dean’s List recognition, and 17.74% recorded 4.0 GPAs.
The impressive GPAs build on an academic year that saw UTRGV finish with a 986 Academic Progress Rate (APR), its third year in a row above 985. Nine programs achieved perfect APRs of 1,000, including volleyball and men’s and women’s cross country, golf, tennis, and soccer.
“I could not be prouder of the tremendous work that our student-athletes are doing in the classroom to allow them to excel at such a high level in their academic pursuits,” UTRGV Senior Vice President and Director of Athletics Chasse Conque said. “Competing and winning championships and experiencing a high level of academic success is the foundation of what we offer in college athletics. The hard work our student-athletes are doing now sets them up for excellence in life. I am grateful for their dedication and that of our academic services team and coaches for their commitment to our student-athletes’ work in the classroom.”
Every sport program posted a team GPA over 3.0, including 11 with GPAs above 3.25, led by women’s golf, which recorded a 3.723 GPA, as seven of eight student-athletes earned both AD Honor Roll and Dean’s List honors (87.5%), including a department best 50% (four) with 4.0 GPAs.
Women’s tennis was right behind at 3.722, as eight out of nine (88.89%) student-athletes earned spots on the AD Honor Roll, seven (77.78%) made the Dean’s List, and three (33.33%) achieved 4.0 GPAs.
Also above 3.7 was volleyball at 3.701, which had a department best 100% of the team (18 of 18) make the AD Honor Roll, including a department-high 88.89% (16) on the Dean’s List, and four with 4.0 GPAs.
Swimming & diving finished fourth with a 3.68 GPA, as 21 of 25 (84%) student-athletes made the AD Honor Roll, 19 made the Dean’s List, and five achieved 4.0 GPAs.
Football had a department-high 51 student-athletes earn AD Honor Roll recognition and a department-high 31 student-athletes on the Dean’s List. A department-best 10 men’s soccer student-athletes achieved 4.0 GPAs.
Spring 2026 AD Honor Roll Recipients
| Baseball | ||
| Team GPA | 3.46 | |
| AD Honor Roll Recipients | 31 | 75.61% |
| Dean’s List Honorees | 25 | 60.98% |
| 4.0 GPAs | 7 | 17.07% |
| Daren Barrera | ||
| Cameron Carter | ||
| Andy Chapa | ||
| Kike Cienfuegos | ||
| Mason Engel | ||
| Chayton Fischer | ||
| Rocco Garza Gongora | ||
| Rudy Gonzalez | ||
| Ruben Gonzalez | ||
| Augie Grohman | ||
| JC Gutierrez | ||
| Evan Janner | ||
| Calvin Junek | ||
| Víctor Loa | ||
| Nick Nolan | ||
| Steven Oliva | ||
| Jayden Paluseo | ||
| Julius Ramirez | ||
| Armani Raygoza | ||
| David Reyes | ||
| Aaron Sanchez | ||
| Stephen Sepulveda | ||
| Austin Stracener | ||
| Andrew Taylor | ||
| Harrison Thayer | ||
| Colton Vercoe | ||
| Diego Villescas | ||
| Hank Warren | ||
| Damien Whitfield | ||
| Wyatt Wiatrek | ||
| Thomas Williams | ||
| Men’s Basketball | ||
| Team GPA | 3.02 | |
| AD Honor Roll Recipients | 8 | 53.33% |
| Dean’s List Honorees | 5 | 33.33% |
| 4.0 GPAs | 1 | 6.67% |
| Zae Blake | ||
| Filip Brankovic | ||
| Marshal Destremau | ||
| Kye Dickson | ||
| Marvin McGhee III | ||
| Luis Ramirez | ||
| Jalen Ricks | ||
| Jaylen Washington | ||
| Women’s Basketball | ||
| Team GPA | 3.52 | |
| AD Honor Roll Recipients | 12 | 85.71% |
| Dean’s List Honorees | 10 | 71.43% |
| 4.0 GPAs | 6 | 42.86% |
| Gianna Angiolet | ||
| Ivy Brown | ||
| Noa Feller | ||
| Elise Horne | ||
| Madison Huhn | ||
| Jalayah Ingram | ||
| Kayla Lorenz | ||
| Erin Maguire | ||
| Charlotte O’Keefe | ||
| Elizabeth Romer | ||
| Sophia Zufelt | ||
| Football | ||
| Team GPA | 3.07 | |
| AD Honor Roll Recipients | 51 | 46.36% |
| Dean’s List Honorees | 31 | 28.18% |
| 4.0 GPAs | 5 | 4.55% |
| Ja’Marcus Anderson | ||
| James Bailey | ||
| Jaxon Baize | ||
| Dorian Blackwell | ||
| Trey Bright III | ||
| Zion Brown | ||
| Keion Bryant | ||
| Brennan Carroll | ||
| Connor Carrigan | ||
| Josh Cashiola | ||
| Atzel Chavez Jr. | ||
| Tate Davis | ||
| Tyler Day | ||
| TJ Dement | ||
| Thomas Domian | ||
| Andrew Earls | ||
| Kingsley Ejiofor | ||
| Hank Filamar | ||
| Brysen Gardner | ||
| Mateo Grajeda | ||
| Alex Green | ||
| Jack Harwell | ||
| Jaiden Haygood | ||
| Carter Hewitt | ||
| Jayden House | ||
| Nathan Huerta | ||
| Nick Hughes | ||
| Percy Jackson III | ||
| Nathan Luschen | ||
| Viliami Makahununiu | ||
| Jaxson Maynard | ||
| Frank Medina | ||
| Reid Mikeska | ||
| TK Mina | ||
| TJ Neal | ||
| Abram Nicklas | ||
| David Nwabuoku | ||
| Ife Ohalete | ||
| Jayden Paluseo | ||
| Nicholas Peace | ||
| Amari Pouncy | ||
| Brendon Ray | ||
| Spencer Rich | ||
| Christian Sabsook | ||
| Henry Schouten | ||
| Jaydon Smith | ||
| Keilan Sweeny | ||
| Claudio Torres | ||
| Jackson Waid | ||
| Nathaniel Wallace-Dilling | ||
| Marek Wojno | ||
| Men’s Golf | ||
| Team GPA | 3.29 | |
| AD Honor Roll Recipients | 5 | 55.56% |
| Dean’s List Honorees | 4 | 44.44% |
| 4.0 GPAs | 1 | 11.11% |
| Esteban Gonzalez | ||
| Arthit Kruaprayong | ||
| Eddie Lai | ||
| Brock Porter | ||
| Jorge Martin Sampedro |
About Author
