SEATTLE – The NCAA released its latest Academic Progress Rate (APR) report this week, showing University of Washington student-athletes continuing to excel with a 996 single year rate and a multi-year rate of 992. This marks the 12th consecutive year that Washington has scored above 980 combining all programs.
 
“UW Athletics continues to score at the highest levels of the APR metric,” said UW Director of Athletics Pat Chun. “Success at a world-class institution like ours requires true dedication and hard work. Our student-athletes, along with our coaches and academic support staff, have built an environment that promotes academic achievement.”
 
Washington’s four-year rate of 992 remains above the national average of 984. The latest single-year APR metric has 16 UW programs posting a perfect 1,000 score.
 
Additional recent academic successes for the department include a record-high Graduation Success Rate of 94 from fall of 2024, and a department-wide GPA of 3.49 from the 2025 winter quarter, the highest-ever department grade point average for a quarter, excluding COVID-specific quarters.
 
Seven UW teams were recognized for having a multi-year APR score in the top 10-percent of all programs nationally – men’s soccer, women’s basketball, women’s golf, gymnastics, beach volleyball, women’s soccer, and volleyball. The seven top 10% programs is up from five in 2024.
 
Six programs currently boast perfect 1,000 multi-year scores: women’s basketball, beach volleyball, women’s golf, gymnastics, women’s soccer, and volleyball. Those six programs also rank No. 1 in the Big Ten Conference. Men’s soccer is second amongst Big Ten schools, and women’s rowing ranks third.
 
APR provides a real-time look at a team’s academic success each quarter by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete on scholarship. The APR accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation and provides a measure of each team’s academic performance. The APR scores released today reflect academic rates from the 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 academic years.
 

AUSTIN, Texas – Texas beach volleyball had eight student-athletes earn sports on the CCSA All-Academic Team, the conference announced Thursday.

To qualify the student-athletes had to have a 3.0 or better cumulative grade point average, be at least a sophomore, completed one full academic year at the institutions prior to this season and must have competed in 50 percent or more of the institution’s competition this season.

Texas and Florida State led the conference with eight honors, while LSU earned seven and South Carolina five.

CCSA All-Academic Team  | Name, Major

Macey Butler, Advertising

Chloe Charles, Human Dimensions of Organization

Katie Hashman, Finance

Maddison Parmelly, Masters in Strategic Communications

Ava Patton, Management

Emma Grace Robertson, Marketing

Kylie Wickley, Physical Culture & Sports

Karin Zolnercikova, Physical Culture & Sports

The NCAA tournament is familiar territory for Pepperdine’s head men’s volleyball coach Jonathan Winder (’08). As a Pepperdine student-athlete, Winder competed on two separate NCAA tournament teams, each yielding vastly different results. In 2007 he experienced the disappointment that comes with a first-round exit. However, in 2005, he became one of the rare few to savor the sweet success of a national championship. As a competitor, he’s endured all that the biggest tournament of the year has to offer—but he’s never gone through it as a head coach. 

“As a player, I was incredibly grateful for my teammates and the moment,” Winder explains. “As a coach, there’s even more pride in being here. I get to see the amount of work that it takes for a program to be successful at this level and how much administrative support we receive.”

This year marks Winder’s third as the Waves’ head coach. Now dictating the action from the sideline, his goal has not changed since his days as a student-athlete. Each year, he says the main objective is to win a championship—both on and off the court. 

While these high expectations are not unique to any NCAA Division I coach, Winder’s approach to achieving competitive success is out of the ordinary. Rather than focusing solely on athletic prowess, Winder and his coaching staff have prioritized cultivating a culture of character—a team driven to succeed not only in volleyball but also in life. Winder believes that this holistic approach has propelled his team to the high level of success they enjoy today.

“I’ve always believed that character produces excellence,” he says. “The two have to go hand in hand.”

Four Key Values 

Winder has established a team culture around four key values—respect, competition, learning, and resilience. These principles serve as the foundation of his program and influence its every aspect from recruitment to daily practice routines. Winder views it as his responsibility to ensure that these values are consistently instilled in his team—values that shape students’ athletic performance as well as their personal growth. 

“I’ve always viewed my role as a coach as an environmental engineer,” he says. “Coaches control the environment, and culture is something that’s caught.

With this mindset, the Pepperdine men’s volleyball staff takes a highly intentional approach to working with their student-athletes. Winder and his assistant coaches view themselves as mentors who holistically invest in their players’ lives on the court, in the classroom, and in their spiritual growth. The results of this approach speak for themselves. 

Throughout the 2024–25 academic year, the men’s volleyball team maintained a collective 3.7 grade-point average. In competition they started 15 different players and still achieved a 20-9 record, ending the year as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference champions. Winder believes that both the academic and athletic achievements of the group highlight their willingness to learn, grow, and compete with character—a principle at the heart of their mission and one that’s compelling to prospective student athletes. 

“On my visit to Pepperdine, I witnessed the culture and what the coaches are trying to instill in the team, and that’s a big reason why I committed to play here,” says Cole Hartke, a Pepperdine first year and the nation’s leading freshman scorer. “Our coaches teach us that there’s more than just volleyball to life. There are things beyond the game.”

Winder makes no claim to having invented this character-driven coaching philosophy himself. Rather, he asserts that he’s bringing back to life the same culture he experienced as a Pepperdine athlete.

“The character development occurs alongside the volleyball team development,” says Winder. “I got the chance to play in the Pepperdine environment, so I know what that felt like. As the head coach, I’ve been trying to re-energize the culture I experienced—an environment that is competitive, respectful, and tough.”

Learning Along the Way

During his time at Pepperdine, Winder played under head coach Marv Dunphy (’74), who led the Waves to four NCAA titles during a 34-year tenure. This experience, coupled with Winder’s time as a professional player in Europe and a collegiate coach on the women’s side at the University of Washington and Fresno State, has helped make him into the leader he is today. 

From Dunphy, he learned how to teach the game, emphasizing positivity and communication in the learning process. Relying on these fundamentals, he is constantly refining his methods. Prior to Pepperdine, he earned experience commandeering both men’s and women’s teams at Fresno State, where he produced 11 All-Mountain West conference honorees. Additionally, he alternated between coaching beach and indoor volleyball at the University of Washington and helped produce eight all-Americans and 18 all-conference athletes in the process. These dynamic and varied environments have provided Winder with invaluable insights into developing young athletes.

“I feel blessed to have had the journey I’ve had,” explains Winder. “I’ve learned a lot of different perspectives on how to get the most out of every team, no matter what.” 

Now all these varied coaching avenues have aligned for Winder. At his alma mater, he’s been able to apply his prior knowledge to jumpstart the culture of excellence that’s synonymous with Pepperdine volleyball. Yet when asked about how he wants his players to remember him, he does not mention winning or losing. Instead, he wants them to remember the family feel of the program.

With this goal in mind, Winder has elevated his team to a level that gives them the chance to play for a national championship. His investment in their lives is one of the galvanizing factors motivating the Waves athletes to keep striving for the title and to keep reaching for the values of respect, competition, learning, and resilience.

“I want my players to feel like they’re a part of our family,” says Winder. “I want them to feel like I’m a part of their journey. My hope is that I helped them on and off the court equally. At this stage in life, that’s the role I want to play. When they leave Pepperdine, I want them to feel motivated and equipped to take on the world.”

Winder and the Waves take on Loyola Chicago on Thursday, May 8, 2025, at 4:30 PM PDT in the NCAA quarterfinals in Columbus, Ohio. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+.

The athletic department and Athletic Director Jon Waters recognized Coach Jim Sprecher for all of his accomplishments during his tenure with the cross country and track & field programs at Lynchburg prior to his departure at the end of this year. He was honored with a shoe that showcased just a few of his countless accolades since joining the Hornets in 2015 and a mock of a plaque in his honor was displayed and will live perennially on the Enza Steele Walk of Fame.

Later in the show was a recognition of the Crimson & Gray Award recipients and a look back of the top LHSN plays of the year. The three major categories of awards for the night were the Male and Female Rookies of the Year, the Male and Female Athletes of the Year, and the Dr. Jack M. Toms Male and Female Senior Athletes of the Year. This year, for the Male and Female Rookies and Athletes of the Year, we separated the award winners into two categories to properly acknowledge all of the incredibly successful student-athletes that showcased their greatness this year. Those categories were separated by student-athletes in sports with event-based championships and those in sports with tournament-based championships. Below are the award nominees and winners for each category, with winners designated by bolded and Italicized font.

Male Rookie Athlete Of The Year

Event Based Championship Teams

Jamarcus Brown, Men’s Basketball / Track & Field

Tristan Wright, Track & Field

Logan Page, Swimming

Cooper Mizelle, Men’s Golf

Tournament Based Championship Teams

William Casey, Men’s Soccer

Nick Redding, Men’s Volleyball

Aidan Casey, Men’s Lacrosse

Female Rookie Athlete Of The Year

Event Based Championship Teams

Sienna Schmeck, Swimming

Adelynn Carpenter, Cross Country/Track & Field

Clair Humphreys, Equestrian

Tournament Based Championship Teams

Sammie Rogstad, Women’s Soccer

Audra Petty, Women’s Basketball

Leah DiNardo, Women’s Volleyball

Male Athlete Of The Year 

Event Based Championship Teams

Chasen Hunt, Cross Country / Track & Field

Eddie Coffren V, Men’s Golf

Miles West, Swimming

Tournament Based Championship Teams

Benjamin Velasquez, Men’s Soccer

Riley Hastings, Men’s Lacrosse

Tyler Kaltreider, Baseball

Riley Frankel, Men’s Lacrosse

Parker Sealy, Men’s Lacrosse

Female Athlete Of The Year

Event Based Championship Teams

Lucy Metzler, Equestrian

Kacey Kelly, Women’s Basketball/Track & Field

Sienna Schmeck, Swimming

Tournament Based Championship Teams

Khanyisile Mzizi, Field Hockey

Neely Morris, Women’s Lacrosse

Madelyn Boyce, Women’s Soccer

Lexi Powell, Softball

Sarah Watts, Softball

Dr. Jack M. Toms Male Senior Athlete Award

Tor Hotung-Davidsen, Cross Country / Track & Field

Nick Mattfield, Baseball

Andrew Miller, Men’s Lacrosse

Will Kasemeyer, Swimming

Manzi Shalita, Men’s Soccer

Jake Rust, Men’s Lacrosse

Dr. Jack M. Toms Female Senior Athlete Award

Haleigh Casey, Women’s Soccer

Kailey Dorcsis, Softball

Allison Dell, Cross Country/Track & Field

Fallyn Belcastro, Equestrian

Alexandria Russell, Equestrian

Emma Schweizer, Equestrian

Maddy Foreman, Swimming

Meredith Bornholdt, Women’s Lacrosse

Visit Lynchburg athletics’ home online, LynchburgSports.com, anytime for up-to-the-minute news on all Hornets sports and coverage from the Lynchburg Hornets Sports Network.

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–LYN–

A new NCAA Division I governance model is being circulated among executives, according to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger.

The proposal would streamline the current committee structure—reducing the number of committees and eliminating some entirely. Most notably, it would grant the four power conferences 51%, and potentially up to 65%, of weighted voting power.

The idea of a new governance model has been a topic of discussion for years, but it gained urgency after the NCAA reached settlements in three antitrust lawsuits concerning athlete compensation, with the House case being the most prominent.

For those who aren’t up to date on the House case, the settlement—if approved by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken—includes nearly $2.8 billion in back damages for lost opportunities due to the NCAA’s past restrictions on name, image, and likeness (NIL) for student-athletes who competed between 2016 and 2024.

The settlement would allow institutions to pay student-athletes for their name, image, and likeness, with each school able to allocate up to $20.5 million annually for athlete compensation.

Also included is the implementation of roster limits, which would replace traditional scholarship limits.

SwimSwam has reported extensively on the House case. For a more in-depth look, please refer to the articles listed at the end of this piece.

The NCAA’s reported new model represents a change compared to an earlier proposal from the power conferences, which sought exclusive control over rule-making, legislative matters, and postseason competition.

The model is still in the proposal phase and currently being circulated for feedback. Final approval would need to come from the Division I Board.

If implemented, the new structure is designed to speed up NCAA decision-making and could give the Big Ten, SEC, ACC, and Big 12 substantial influence. The key takeaway: if they can cooperate enough to vote as a block, the Power Four schools could control every vote.

As the influence of the power conferences expands, the 28 non-power Division I conferences would see reduced representation—for example, a single voting seat could be shared by up to four FCS conferences.

Per Dellenger, more information about the proposed model is expected to be released publicly on Friday.

Read more about the House Settlement: