UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State Athletics saw 213 student-athletes earn Academic All-Big Ten honors from its spring programs. Arwen Borowiak (men’s fencing), Florence Caron (women’s track and field), Juds Langille (men’s golf), Jack Messina (baseball), and Tanner Piotrowski (men’s track and field) all had perfect 4.0 GPAs.
Penn State Athletics programs registered 117 fall honorees and 94 winter honorees to total 424 selections throughout the 2024-25 academic year.
To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selections, students must be on a varsity team and have been enrolled full time at the institution for a minimum of 12 months and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.0 or higher.
Among those on the list is junior Tessa Janecke of women’s ice hockey. Janecke is a two-time All-American who set the record for career points by a Nittany Lion, posting 153 to date. After her third collegiate season, she competed for the U.S. Women’s National Team at the 2025 IIHF World Championships. She scored the golden goal to capture the gold medal for the Red, White, and Blue.
Women’s track and field led the spring honorees, overthrowing men’s lacrosse as top team for the first time since 2020. Men’s lacrosse and men’s track and field tied to lead the men’s side, posting 31 honorees each.
Team-by-Team Honorees
Baseball – 12
Softball – 15
Men's Fencing – 11
Women's Fencing – 15
Men’s Golf – 6
Women’s Golf – 4
Women’s Ice Hockey – 10
Men’s Lacrosse – 31
Women’s Lacrosse – 22
Men’s Tennis – 7
Women’s Tennis – 6
Men’s Track and Field – 31
Women’s Track and Field – 33
Men’s Volleyball – 10
The latest 213 honorees bring Penn State's total academic honorees to 9,174 since 1991-92.
Penn State Highest Spring Academic All-Big Totals (3.0 GPA):
2021 – 226^
2022 – 224*
2025 – 213
2023 – 210
2024 – 208
2019 – 183
2020 – 174^
2018 – 166
*- School Record
^- Alternate grading system used due to COVID-19.
Graduation Success Rates
Penn State student-athletes continue to register record-breaking graduation rates and perform well above their peers nationwide. The Nittany Lions posted a record-tying 93% NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) and 11 programs earned perfect 100% ratings. This is the eight consecutive year the Nittany Lions posted a record or record-tying performance in the classroom, according to data reported by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The NCAA's annual graduation rates report of Division I institutions across the nation revealed Penn State student-athletes at the University Park campus earned a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 93% to equal the school’s all-time record of 93%, which was set in the 2023 NCAA report. Nittany Lion students posted a 93% graduation rate compared to the 90% average for all Division I institutions for student-athletes entering from 2014-15 academic year through the 2017-18 academic year.
Penn State student-athletes have logged a Graduation Success Rate in the 88-93% range during each of the past 18 NCAA reports, improving from 88% in the 2015 report to a record-tying 93% report in the 2024 report.
Penn State Among the Nation's Most Comprehensive and Successful Athletic Programs
Under the leadership of Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics, Dr. Patrick Kraft, Penn State has one of the nation's most comprehensive and successful athletic programs, featuring 800 student-athletes across 31 varsity programs (16 men's, 15 women's). The Nittany Lions' 31 programs are tied for the fourth-highest number of sports sponsored by a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) institution.