General | June 16

DeKALB, IL – Nine Northern Illinois University student-athletes from the wrestling and men's and women's golf programs were named to College Sports Communicators' Academic All-District At-Large Teams on Tuesday.
 
Blake West (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee) earned his fourth straight Academic All-District selection while Caroline Kent (Frisco, Texas/iUniversity Prep) was named Academic All-District for the third consecutive season. Craig Long (Alpharetta, Ga./Milton) and Tommy Bennett (Evergreen Park, Ill./Brother Rice) were also repeat selections.
 
West became NIU Wrestling's all-time wins leader this season, going 20-7 to finish his career with a 119-33 record. He won the 125-pound championship at the Ken Kraft Midlands in December and was a perfect 6-0 in Mid-American Conference duals. Bennett was 15-12 on the year and earned MAC Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 27 after his 6-5 victory over 10^th-ranked Garrett Thompson of Ohio. 174. Caleb Roe (Arab, Ala./Presbyterian) adds the Academic All-District honor to his Academic All-MAC selection.
 
Kent was third on the NIU women's golf team in scoring average this season at 78.18. She had a top-20 finish at the GCU Invitational on Feb. 25, helping lead the Huskies to a second-place finish. Mia Raines (Galena, Ohio/Olentangy Berlin) was the Huskies' top finisher in six tournaments this season, including a third-place at Grand Canyon. She finished the season as NIU's leader in scoring average at 75.21. Alexa Ouellet (Toronto, Ontario, Canada/De La Salle College) had a pair of top-10 finishes this season, taking ninth at the Redbird Invitational and tying for sixth at the Nashville Invitational.
 
Long became the fourth NIU men's golfer in five years to win a tournament, carding a final round 65 to take first place at the Badger Invitational at -11. He had four other top-25 finishes this season. Conner McCall (Vandalia, Ill./Vandalia) led NIU in scoring average at 73.091 and had three top-10 finishes this season. Patrick Raupp (Arlington Heights, Ill./Prospect) was the Huskies' top finisher at the MAC Championship, tying for fifth for his first career top-five performance.
 
The 2026 Academic All-District® Men's and Women's At-Large teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances in competition and in the classroom. A student-athlete must maintain a 3.50 cumulative grade point average and meet the athletic criteria based on their sport.
 
2026 NIU CSC Academic All-District At-Large Honorees
 
Men's Golf
Craig Long, Junior, Finance, 3.588 GPA
Conner McCall, Sophomore, Business Administration, 3.968 GPA
Patrick Raupp, Sophomore, Marketing, 3.738 GPA
 
Women's Golf
Caroline Kent, Graduate, Global MBA, 3.967 GPA
Alexa Ouellet, Sophomore, Criminology, 3.95 GPA
Mia Raines, Sophomore, Sport Management, 3.984 GPA
 
Wrestling
Tommy Bennett, Junior, Nursing, 3.66 GPA
Caleb Roe, Senior, General Emphasis, 3.515 GPA
Blake West, Redshirt-Senior, Biological Sciences, 4.0 GPA
 
--NIU--