Noelle Niederman ’27, a beach volleyball player at Santa Clara University, had an early introduction to the sport, as her parents first met playing beach volleyball. Years later, in 2019, she was introduced to a club program in her home state of Washington.

“My family and I met some really amazing people, and they were like, ‘you’re young and you’re good, you should definitely try it out,’ and it changed my life,” Niederman shared.

She finished the 2025 season with a 13-20 overall record, competing at the No. 1, 2, and 3 positions in the lineup. In conference play, Niederman ended with a 4-1 record and was recognized as part of the West Coast Conference All-Academic Team, in which the WCC recognizes student-athletes that have excellence in both their athletics and academics. She and the Broncos achieved the best performance in program history by placing second in the WCC Championship. According to Niederman, the team culture was crucial to this success. 

“We had a very good foundation as, in the beginning, my coaches made an effort to get to know everyone considering the majority of our team is new,” she said. “We had a bunch of team bonding exercises, giving us confidence to push each other.”

She reflected on her mindset during high-pressure matches, such as the WCC final against Loyola Marymount University and focused on believing in herself and her teammates. “I go through a mindset of, okay, I want to win, I know I can, let’s get it done. In those moments, I just have to trust myself and trust my skills, and that both my partner and I are in it.”

On top of her commitment to her athletic excellence, Niederman is a mechanical engineering student, and recalls how it can be a challenge during the season to manage her time between both school and volleyball, so she has strategized by being goal-oriented.

“Balance has been a big thing. I’m a mechanical engineer, so it’s been tough. Allocating certain times during the day for work, trying to avoid nights,” she said. “I want to succeed in both athletics and academics, because that’s why I am here. A, to get a good education, B, to further develop my career-oriented skills being on a team.”

Niederman emphasized perseverance when dealing with difficulties during training or following tough matches. 

“I like to push myself—I’ve never seen myself as a quitter, so what motivates me is the feeling I get after I succeed and, if I fail, I need to take that as an opportunity to learn.”  

Heading into the WCC Championship, Niederman said the team was confident and motivated. Looking ahead, she also reflected on this idea while hoping to build on the current team identity and continue to develop her own individual skills.

“Going into the championship, we had a lot of confidence and we were very hungry to get those wins, and we never doubted each other, and we will continue this into next season,” Niederman said. “We have this culture and identity that is super strong, so I’m very stoked for our next season. For me personally, I just want to stay focused and continue to build my confidence and have a strong belief in myself and my abilities.”

BIRMINGHAM – Texas A&M track & field’s Carter Bajoit and Heather Abadie were named to the SEC Community Service Team, the league announced Thursday.
 

Bajoit has been a standout student-athlete and three-year team captain with the Texas A&M track & field team, known for his leadership and commitment to service. He leads weekly Bible studies through Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and launched PROJECT CHRISTMAS to support over 300 people in Houston each year.
 

From mentoring youth at the Boys & Girls Club to serving local causes in the Brazos valley, Carter’s impact earned him a spot on the 2024 SEC Community Service Team and landed him on NACDA Good Works Team which recognizes 20 standout student-athletes for their exceptional achievements in community service, athletics and academics.
 

Revered by his peers, Bajoit was given the honor of speaking at Texas A&M’s athletics graduation ceremony following his final season for the Maroon & White where he helped guide the team to its first SEC Indoor Championship title.
 

Abadie concluded a historic career in Aggieland, leaving a lasting impression on her teammates and the community. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native first kept her service at the local level, as she became a member of the track & field teams leadership council, finding ways to help her fellow teammates maximize their experience and impact while at Texas A&M.
 

Abadie also serves on the national stage, giving back to the sport by volunteering for USATF helping out with meets. The standout leaves Texas A&M as the school-record holder in both the indoor and outdoor pole vault events and a two time SEC Champion, while serving as a leader for that group throughout her four-year campaign.
 

The duo also took their service to the international stage, as both Bajoit and Abadie helped raise $36,000 for a mission trip to Panama, where student-athletes at Texas A&M served locals from the area.
 

To learn more about Texas A&M Track & Field/Cross Country, visit 12thMan.com and follow @aggietfxc.

Student-Athletes at the University of South Carolina ended the Spring 2025 semester with a departmental grade point average (GPA) of 3.45, it was announced today. This marks the department’s third-highest GPA on record and the 37th-consecutive semester with a departmental GPA above 3.0.

Softball (3.86) earned the highest team GPA, followed closely by men’s soccer (3.68) and women’s golf (3.67).  Overall, 17 of 18 teams earned a GPA of 3.0 or better during the spring semester.

The cumulative grade point average for all student-athletes in each sport since they have arrived at Carolina is 3.46, which stands as the second highest cumulative GPA ever for Gamecock student-athletes (Spring 2020 – 3.47).

“These numbers are representative of the importance that our student-athletes, coaches and staff put on academic excellence,” said Athletics Director Jeremiah Donati.  “I am proud of their accomplishments and the priority that they have on graduating from the University of South Carolina.”

“Our students continue to exhibit their competitive academic commitment at the University of South Carolina,” said Charlie Ball, Senior Associate Athletics Director – Academics. “We are excited to continue the tradition of exceling in the classroom and in their sports. These results are proof that our students believe in the importance of quality education and our academic staff’s dedication to their academic success, leading to the matriculation of graduation.”

The department named 98 student-athletes to the President’s List for earning a 4.0 GPA, 210 student-athletes to the Dean’s List (3.5) and 460 to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll (3.0).

107 Gamecock student-athletes received their degrees at the Spring 2025 USC commencement ceremonies.

Gamecock student-athletes have led in the SEC Academic Honor Roll cumulatively for the last 10 years, leading in seven of those years.

 Team – Spring 2025 Semester GPA

Baseball – 3.13

Men’s Basketball – 2.83

Women’s Basketball – 3.672

Beach Volleyball – 3.44

Equestrian – 3.66

Football – 3.30

Men’s Golf – 3.41

Women’s Golf – 3.673

Men’s Soccer – 3.68

Women’s Soccer – 3.57

Softball – 3.86

Men’s Swimming/Diving – 3.57

Women’s Swimming/Diving – 3.61

Men’s Tennis – 3.54

Women’s Tennis – 3.64

Men’s Track & Field – 3.39

Women’s Track & Field / Cross Country – 3.32

Volleyball – 3.58

IRVINE, Calif. –  USA Water Polo dropped their roster for the World Aquatics Men’s Junior World Championships (U20) on Friday, June 5th at noon, calling redshirt sophomore Baxter Chelsom to action.
 
Hailing from Los Angeles, California, the goalkeeper debuted his career defending the cage in the 2024 season. Logging 171 minutes in collegiate waters thus far, he has made 50 saves across ten games. He had a career-high of ten saves against the formidable USC team on September 8th and only allowed three goals against University of Redlands and UC Merced.
 
Joining a daunting roster scraped together by head coach Jack Kocur, the roster of 15 looks to compete in Zagreb, Croatia starting competition on June 14th at 10:00am PST. They will go on to face off against Hungary at 8:30am PST on the 15th, and Montenegro the following day at 8:30am as well. The team will play in the top bracket, and a champion team will be crowned on the 21st of June.
 
Live stats and video will be available to cheer on our Aggie representative, more to come.
 

Two Pittsburgh Steelers players, including Mason Rudolph, who is currently in line to be the Steelers’ starting quarterback, recently attended a local rally for United States President Donald Trump.

The players received backlash for the appearance, and both are issuing statements doubling down on their decisions, a rather shocking move in the current political climate.

“There’s backlash every day you look on social media,” Rudolph said, according to Steelers Now. “That’s the nature of social media. It’s the nature of why America’s so great because everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and speech is free.”

Mile Killebrew, the other attendee, released a similar statement.

“Here’s the deal. I remember what it was like being a kid, and me and my friends growing up, we either wanted to be the president or have the chance to meet him one day. And yesterday, I got to meet the president. I’m not apologetic about that. For anyone who thinks that’s a bad thing, to be honest, I couldn’t care less. I wasn’t there signing legislation. I was just there meeting the president and glad I did it.”

Fans reacted to the responses on social media.

“I love these guys more that they are unapologetic President Trump bringing steel jobs back to Pittsburgh supporters!” one fan wrote on Twitter.

“Great response! Stand firm with Rocky Bleir and Trump,” another person added.

“It would be OK if they said they support Trump too. They didn’t say that. Either way, there should be no controversy,” someone else wrote.

It’ll be interesting to see what their teammates think of their decision to attend the rally.