Forty-Six Mustangs Earn Big West Fall Academic All-Conference Selection
1/22/2026 1:13:00 PM | Cross Country, General, Men's Soccer, Women's Soccer, Women's Volleyball
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Forty-six Cal Poly student-athletes – a four-player improvement from last fall and a 26 percent improvement from 2023 – were selected as Big West Fall Academic All-Conference members on Thursday afternoon.
Displaying excellence on the court and field as well as the classroom in 2025, each of Cal Poly’s five Big West fall sports – volleyball, men’s and women’s soccer and men’s and women’s cross country – captured either a conference regular season or tournament title.
In order to qualify for selection, student-athletes (excluding true freshmen and first-year transfers) had to maintain at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA through the most recent academic term while also competing in at least 50 percent of their program’s competitions.
The complete listing of Cal Poly’s 46 Big West Fall All-Academic Team honorees is below.
The Cal Poly volleyball program, which captured the 2025 Big West Championship title before reaching the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the first time in 18 years, featured six honorees, including AVCA All-Pacific Region honorable mention selection Chloe Leluge.
Cal Poly’s men’s soccer team, which won a second straight Big West regular season title in 2025, enjoyed a program record 15 selections – 79 percent of its eligible roster. Forward Oren Stuppel departs the program as a three-time all-academic pick while defender and captain Parker Owens combined a second straight academic honor with a second successive
The Big West Recognizes 440 Student-Athletes as 2025 Fall Academic All-Conference Honorees
— The Big West (@BigWestSports) January 22, 2026
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Winning its fourth all-time Big West Championship title in 2025 under first-year head coach Bernardo Silva – and first since 2004 – the Cal Poly women’s soccer team earned 12 individual academic honors (the fifth successive season with at least a dozen selections). Five of Cal Poly’s six All-Big West honorees also earned all-academic praise in forward Annika Smith (Big West Offensive Player of the Year), defender Brennan Cole (Defensive Player of the Year), forward Jessie Halladay, defender Camryn Penn and goalkeeper Shannon Porubski. Cole, Penn, forward Emily Lieber and midfielder Sophia Minnite each earned a third career all-academic award.
Each of the Cal Poly women’s cross country runners that finished among the top 10 at the championship meet – Nikki Bridges, Kelli Gaffney, Renae Searls and Melisse Djomby Enyawe – earned all-academic praise. Gaffney, who qualified for the NCAA Championships, became a three-time all-academic honoree between cross country and track alongside teammate Sydney Sundgren.
On the men’s cross country side, Big West Championship runner-up Spencer Pickren, Eddie Sion (fourth place) and Rory Catsimanes (sixth) highlighted the program’s five selections. Pickren, Cal Poly’s top finisher at the NCAA West Regional, became a four-time all-academic honoree between cross country and track.
Last fall, Cal Poly became the first school in the history of the Big West to swept the men’s and women’s cross country team titles four consecutive seasons since the conference began sponsoring both sports in 1983.
Men’s Soccer (15)
Cole Aman, So. – Biomedical Engineering (Portland, OR)
Roman Anast, So. – Industrial Engineering (Loomis, CA)
Nico Baltazar, Sr. – Business Administration (Los Angeles, CA)
Rylan Firouznam, Jr. – Construction Management (Yorda Linda, CA)
Charlie Hogan, So. – Business Administration (Walnut Creek, CA)
Finn Linas, So. – Business Administration (San Clemente, CA)
Quinn Mahoney, So. – Rec., Parks & Tourism Administration (Sacramento, CA)
Sean McTague, Sr. – Business Administration (Mission Viejo, CA)
Jake Oetinger, Sr. – Business Administration (Gilroy, CA)
Parker Owens, Jr. – Business Administration (Southlake, TX)
Colin Pearce, So. – Kinesiology (San Jose, CA)
Bakuena Ramakatsa, Sr. – Interdisciplinary Studies (Quthing, Lesotho)
Oren Stuppel, Sr. – Business Administration (Los Angeles, CA)
Joaquin Torres, Jr. – Business Administration (Denver, CO)
Michael Vick, So. – Business Administration (Kinvara, Ireland)
Women’s Soccer (12)
Bailey Bracha, Jr. — Business Administration (Clovis, CA)
Ashley Brewer, So. — Psychology (San Luis Obispo, CA)
Brennan Cole, Sr. — Graphic Communication (Woodland Hills, CA)
Lauren Collier, So. — Business Administration (San Jose, CA)
Jessie Halladay, Sr. — Graphic Communication (Los Gatos, CA)
Emily Lieber, Sr. — Aerospace Engineering (El Dorado Hills, CA)
Sophia Minnite, Sr. — Kinesiology (Pleasanton, CA)
Camryn Penn, Sr. — Industrial Engineering (Foster City, CA)
Shannon Porubski, So. — Construction Management (Rocklin, CA)
Annika Smith, Jr. — Communication Studies (Scottsdale, AZ)
Kiki Vostermans, So. — Business Administration (San Jose, CA)
Kasia Wolf, Jr. — Business Administration (Santa Barbara, CA)
Men’s Cross Country (5)
Rory Catsimanes, Jr. — Business Administration (San Clemente, CA)
Tyler Downs, Jr. — Construction Management (Highlands Ranch, CO)
Spencer Pickren, Sr. — Anthropology and Geography (Folsom, CA)
Micah Sanchez, Jr. — Mechanical Engineering (Alpine, CA)
Eddie Sion, So. — Kinesiology (Glendale, CA)
Women’s Cross Country (8)
Nicole Bridges, So. — Agricultural Business (Bakersfield, CA)
Melisse Djomby Enyawe, So. — Psychology (Newport Beach, CA)
Ella Echsner, So. — Business Administration (San Diego, CA)
Kelli Gaffney, Jr. — Kinesiology (Temecula, CA)
Ashlyn Leath, Jr. — Communication Studies (Fresno, CA)
Renae Searls, So. — Anthropology and Geography (Martinez, CA)
Nina St. John, Sr. — Computer Engineering (Denver, CO)
Sydney Sundgren, Jr. — Business Administration (Clovis, CA)
Volleyball (6)
Kendall Beshear, So. — BioResource & Agricultural Engineering (Palos Verdes, CA)
Emma Fredrick, Jr. — Business Administration (Bakersfield, CA)
London Haberfield, Sr. — Communication Studies (Encinitas, CA)
Elif Hurriyet, So. — Psychology (Istanbul, Türkiye)
Chloe LeLuge, So. — Architecture (Bend, OR)
Ella Scott, Jr. — Child Development (San Clemente, CA)
