KANSAS CITY, Mo – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) proudly announces the 2026 NAIA Scholar-Athletes for spring 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 spring sports who have excelled academically, including baseball, softball, golf, lacrosse, track & field, tennis, flag football, beach volleyball and men’s volleyball.
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.
The distribution of scholar-athletes by institution highlights a small group of schools that stand out for both academic and athletic engagement, with Dordt (Iowa) leading the nation at 125 honorees. Close behind are Marian (Ind.), Doane (Neb.), and Concordia (Neb.), all with near or above 95 selections. Schools such as Indiana Wesleyan, Reinhardt (Ga.) and Indiana Tech also show strong representation, indicating consistent institutional emphasis on academic performance among student-athletes.
The sport breakdown reveals that the highest number of scholar-athletes come from baseball (1,333), women’s track & field (1,219), men’s track & field (1,029) and softball (1,199), each exceeding 1,000 athletes. Golf (M-427, W-379), tennis (W-289, M-271), and men’s volleyball (237) follow closely behind in the 200-500 range, while women’s beach volleyball (148) rounds out the list with a smaller but still notable total.
Conference-level totals show that the Heart of America Athletic Conference (711) and Great Plains Athletic Conference (683) lead the scholar-athlete landscape, each contributing several hundred honorees. The Crossroads League (625) and Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (506) follow closely, while the Appalachian (474), Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (466), Cascade Collegiate Conference (458) and Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (413) all land in the 400 range. Rounding out the conference landscape, Frontier Conference (344) and The Sun Conference (340) boast over 300 scholar-athletes.
Scholar-Athletes by institution CLICK HERE
Scholar-Athletes by name CLICK HERE
Scholar-Athletes by conference CLICK HERE
Scholar-Athletes by sport CLICK HERE
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