ABILENE - Four Abilene Christian volleyball players were recognized for their academic and athletic success with Academic All-District honors from College Sports Communicators, the organization announced Tuesday morning.
Hannah Gonzalez,
Rachel Koss,
Izabelle Larson and
Avery Thaler each represented the Wildcats on the Academic All-District team. Gonzalez received the distinction for the second season in a row, while Koss, Larson and Thaler made the team for the first time.
Schools are permitted to nominate up to four student-athletes for the accolade. Nominees must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically, hold a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.50 and have appeared in at least 90% of their school's matches or started at least 66% of their school's matches.
CSC receives over 33,000 Academic All-District nominations per year across all championship sports, with nearly 2,000 student-athletes earning Academic All-American honors. Volleyball's Academic All-American selections will be unveiled Jan. 13, 2026.
Gonzalez adds to her trophy case after garnering All-Western Athletic Conference First Team honors, becoming the first Wildcat to receive All-Conference First Team distinction since the 2020-21 season. The junior middle blocker is majoring in accounting and holds a 3.91 GPA.
The Lucas, Texas product picked up Academic All-District recognition last season and is a two-time Academic All-WAC honoree. Gonzalez was named to the All-Tournament teams at this season's WAC Tournament, the New Orleans/Nicholls Crossover and the Wildcat Classic.
Koss landed on the All-WAC Second Team and was named the Jersey Mike's A Sub Above WAC Setter of the Week on three occasions this past season. A junior, the two-time Academic All-WAC selection is pursuing a Bachelor's degree in criminal justice with a 3.91 GPA.
Larson ranked in the top five for the Wildcats in service aces and digs in 2025. The junior outside hitter was named to the Academic All-WAC team each of the past two seasons while studying finance with a 3.95 GPA.
Thaler, a sophomore middle blocker, holds a perfect 4.0 GPA while working towards a degree in biology. She earned Academic All-WAC distinction as a freshman in 2024 in addition to being named to the WAC All-Freshman squad. This past season, Thaler ranked second on the team with 83 blocks to go with 136 kills.
ACU closed out the season with 13 wins, its most victories since 2018, including the program's first WAC Tournament victory and first win in a conference tournament since 2017. Four Wildcats picked up All-WAC recognition, the program's most All-Conference accolades in the Division I era.
