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3,143 Winter Sport NAIA Scholar-Athletes

3,143 Winter Sport NAIA Scholar-Athletes

Feb 24, 2026

KANSAS CITY, Mo - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) proudly announces the 2026 NAIA Scholar-Athletes for winter sports. Each semester, the NAIA Scholar‑Athlete list celebrates student‑athletes who excel in both academic and athletic arenas. This honor recognizes student-athletes in each of the winter sports who have excelled academically, including basketball, bowling, competitive cheer, competitive dance, swimming & diving and wrestling.

To qualify as an NAIA Scholar-Athlete, students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale, appear on the eligibility certificate for their sport, and have attended their institution for at least one full year. This year, the list features an impressive number of student-athletes who have met these rigorous standards.

Grand View (Iowa) leads all NAIA institutions with an impressive 74 honorees, with balanced representation across sports such as wrestling, basketball, bowling, and competitive cheer. St. Ambrose (Iowa) follows closely with 66 scholar‑athletes, driven by especially deep rosters in sports like swimming & diving, basketball, and competitive dance. With 60 students recognized, Cumberlands (Ky.) rounds out the top three, with strong representation in its wrestling and swimming programs.
 
Women’s basketball headlines the scholar‑athlete list with 926 honorees. Men’s basketball follows with 659. Men's wrestling, competitive cheer and women's swimming and diving round out the top five each with over 200 athletes represented (265, 214 and 204, respectively).
 
The Heart of America Athletic Conference leads all conferences with 401 scholar-athletes. The Great Plains Athletic Conference follows with 367. Boasting 200+ scholar-athletes: Wholverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (252), Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (242), Crossroads League and Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (223). 
 
 

Full Daktronics Scholar-Athletes lists

Scholar-Athletes by institution CLICK HERE

Scholar-Athletes by name CLICK HERE

Scholar-Athletes by conference CLICK HERE

Scholar-Athletes by sport CLICK HERE