(Leavenworth, Kansas) – The University of Saint Mary women's swimming team posted the second highest team GPA among all NAIA women's swimming programs during the spring 2026 semester, earning Scholar All-America Team recognition from the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA).
The women’s team finished the semester with a 3.79 team GPA, while the USM men's swimming team also earned Scholar All-America honors with a 3.44 GPA, ranking among the top 10 NAIA men's programs.
The recognition continues a longstanding tradition of academic excellence for the Saint Mary swim program. Both the men's and women's teams have earned CSCAA Scholar All-America Team honors every semester since the program launched in 2018.
“This recognition celebrates the remarkable commitment these student-athletes make to excellence both in the classroom and in competition,” CSCAA Executive Director Samantha Barany said. “The 714 teams honored this spring represent the very best of collegiate swimming and diving, demonstrating that academic success and athletic achievement go hand in hand. We congratulate every student-athlete, coach, and institution recognized.”
In addition to the team honors, seven members of the USM women's swimming team were recognized as CSCAA Individual Scholar All-Americans.
First Team honors were awarded to:
- Olivia Ringle, senior; Tehachapi, California
- Ayla Pierce, senior; Lakewood, Colorado
- Taya Swarts, sophomore; Shawnee, Kansas
- MaryBeth Clark, senior; Kansas City, Kansas
- Reagan Salsbury, junior; Olathe, Kansas
Second Team honors were awarded to:
- Ava Steier, sophomore; Pittsburg, Kansas
- Maria Trotta, sophomore; Marion, Iowa
To qualify for First-Team Scholar All-America, student-athletes must have earned a GPA of 3.5 or higher and participated in their national championship. Students selected for Second-Team must have also earned a 3.5 GPA or higher and met an NIC “A” time standard in Division I, an NCAA “B” qualifying standard for the national championship, or qualified for a diving zone qualification meet for Division II, Division III, and NAIA.
View the complete list of CSCAA Individual Scholar All-America honorees at https://cscaa.org/2025-26-cscaa-individual-scholar-all-america-team-announced/.
The University of Saint Mary is a Catholic co-educational applied liberal arts university founded and sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth. The University of Saint Mary main campus is located at 4100 South 4th Street, Leavenworth, Kan. USM-Johnson County, at 11221 Roe Ave., offers evening accelerated graduate and undergraduate degree-completion programs. The university also offers online programs. Visit stmary.edu for more information.