IRVINE, Calif. — UC San Diego had 33 scholar-athletes recognized as The Big West Winter Academic All-Conference were announced on Monday by the conference. The Winter team comprises the sports of men's and women's basketball and men's and women's swimming.
 
To be eligible, student-athletes must carry a minimum grade point average of 3.00, be at least a sophomore academically with one full year at the institution, and have competed in 50 percent of the team's contests.
 
A total of 221 scholar-athletes who compete in the winter sports of men's and women's basketball and men's and women's swimming across The Big West were honored for their work in the classroom, on the court, and in the pool as members of the 2024-25 Big West Winter Academic All-Conference Team. Sabrina Bennani from women's swimming is one of three Big West student-athletes to boast a perfect 4.00 cumulative GPA.
 
By sport, women's swimming & diving had by far the most honorees with 84 student-athletes named to the team. Men's swimming & diving had 57, followed by women's basketball with 52.
 
By school UC Santa Barbara had the most student-athletes honored with 47. Cal Poly was next with 35, followed by UC San Diego (33) and UC Davis (31). Cal State Bakersfield and Hawai'i) each had 24 student-athletes earn the conference's academic accolade.

The Big West recognizes individuals academically per season – fall, winter, and spring – for all conference-sponsored sports. The Winter Academic All-Conference Team will honor men's and women's basketball and men's and women's swimming & diving student-athletes, with the Spring Academic All-Conference Team consisting of student-athletes from men's and women's golf, men's and women's track and field, women's water polo, men's and women's tennis, men's volleyball, beach volleyball, softball and baseball. The fall team announcement can be found here.
 
UC SAN DIEGO 2024-25 WINTER ALL-ACADEMIC HONOREES
Men's Basketball (2)

Aidan Burke	Sophomore	Business Economics
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones	Senior	Communication

Women's Basketball (6)

Eri Blithikioti	Sophomore	Business Economics
Erin Condron	Sophomore	Human Biology
Gracie Gallegos	Junior	Business Economics
Junaé Mahan	Junior	Sociology
Parker Montgomery	Graduate	Master of Pro Accountancy
Rosa Smith	Junior	Public Health

 
Men's Swimming (13)

Adrian Bellido	Sophomore	Structural Engineering
Jackson Bernstein	Senior	Business Economics
Shane Burns	Junior	International Business
Devin Esser	Senior	Marine Biology
Robby Griswold	Junior	Mechanical Engineering
Skyler Kao	Junior	International Business
Ryan Kirton	Senior	Psychology
Nathan Lee	Senior	Business Economics
Colton Milne	Junior	Human Biology
Chad Morrison	Senior	Bioengineering: BioSystems
Luigi Franco	Junior	Human Biology
Jake Reuter	Senior	Applied Mathematics
Aidan Rikic	Junior	Machine Learning & Neural Computation

 
Women's Swimming (12) 

Iris Bayan	Sophomore	Psychology
Sophia Bell	Junior	Sociology: Social Inequality
Sabrina Bennani	Junior	Human Biology (4.00)
Eva Boehlke	Sophomore	Undeclared
Chloe Braun	Junior	International Studies: Political Science
Sanne Dequine	Junior	Aerospace Engineering
Bianca Fernandez	Sophomore	Molecular and Cell Biology
Gabi Icheva	Senior	Structural Engineering
Minh-Nha Kawamura	Junior	Neurobiology
Asia Kozan	Sophomore	Human Biology
Mackenzie Lee	Senior	Human Biology
Audrey Moore	Junior	General Biology

About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of The Big West Conference in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.