By: Alex Kline, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications

POMONA, Calif. – Just as you thought this past fall couldn't get any more impressive for Cal Poly Pomona Athletics, the student-athletes put together one of the best academic semesters in department history with a combined 3.34 GPA across all 10 teams. This marks the second-highest term GPA in department history, behind only Fall 2020 (3.35).
 
In total, 198 of the 256 student-athletes at CPP earned a GPA of 3.00 or higher, equating to 77 percent of the department – the second highest percentage ever. Cal Poly Pomona Athletics has also never seen 198 athletes accomplish this feat in a single semester. Exactly 108 student-athletes made the Dean's List, marking the most in department history and the second consecutive semester with 100-plus receiving the honor.
 
Furthermore, all 10 teams had a GPA of 3.12 or higher, highlighted by a shining 3.56 GPA from women's basketball and a 3.53 GPA from volleyball.
 
Individual academic awards were plentiful as well, including both Marisa Salazar (women's soccer) and Mads Frederiksen (men's soccer) each being named the recipient of the CCAA Elite 13 Award – given to the individual who not only competes at the highest level in their sport, reaching the conference championship, but also maintains the highest academic standing among their peers. They become the sixth and seventh Broncos to ever receive the honor since its inception in 2017.
 
Another 15 Broncos earned CSC Academic All-District honors, including four from volleyball, five from men's soccer, and six from women's soccer. In order to qualify, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.50 grade point average and compete in 90 percent of the institution's matches played, or must start in at least 66 percent of the institution's matches.
 
Volleyball's Caitie Mueller was later named a CSC Academic All-American, becoming just the third player in program history to receive the award while maintaining a perfect 4.00 GPA toward a Multiple Subject Credential and being named an AVCA All-American for her performance on the court.
 
Both men's and women's cross country received team USTFCCCA All-Academic Honors, while Tom McDonnell, Evan Franco, Galilea Jimenez, Vivian Martinez, Paige Moore, and Miranda Palacios all earned individual distinction by maintaining a 3.00 GPA and finishing top third in their respective NCAA regional competition.  
 
Three men's soccer players were named United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-Americans, including Jasper Winslow, Fin Jackson, and Sam Lena. Winslow is the first player to ever earn this honor in back-to-back seasons, while Jackson and Lena become the fifth and sixth players to earn the award in program history.
 
These academic accomplishments don't even include the greatest athletics performance in fall history, seeing a combined 60-7-9 (.849) record across fall sports, four CCAA titles, three CCAA Coaches of the Year, 32 All-CCAA honorees, seven All-Americans, and of course, the national title in women's soccer.
 
It's safe to say that Fall 2024 at Cal Poly Pomona will go down as the epitome of what it means to succeed as a student-athlete.
 
 

Special recognition to Assistant Athletics Director for Student Services, Scott Tsuji, for his efforts helping CPP student-athletes succeed in the classroom, and for providing the statistics included in this article.