The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) proudly announced the 2026 NAIA Scholar-Athletes for winter sports. Each semester, the NAIA Scholar‑Athlete list celebrates student‑athletes who excel in both academic and athletic arenas. This honor recognizes student-athletes in each of the winter sports who have excelled academically, including basketball, bowling, competitive cheer, competitive dance, swimming & diving and wrestling.

Culver-Stockton College had 15 student-athletes named to the winter sports Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete List.

Women's basketball led all Wildcat programs with eight players named to the list. They were: Abagail Mooney. Avery Oetting. Bailey Berry, and Elly Bentley. Also, Elizabeth Reed, Haley Webb, McKenna Hull and Misora Nambara.

Competitive Cheer had three student-athletes on the list including Anna Miller, Rommarrus Hinson and Za'Raeah Stallings.

Men's Basketball placed two players on the list. They were Quinten Blackburn and Justin Shields, while men's and women's bowling had one student-athlete each, Kody Birmes and Katelin Valentine.

To qualify as an NAIA Scholar-Athlete, students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale, appear on the eligibility certificate for their sport, and have attended their institution for at least one full year. This year, the list features an impressive number of student-athletes who have met these rigorous standards.

Among all NAIA schools, women's basketball headlines the scholar‑athlete list with 926 honorees. Men's basketball follows with 659. Men's wrestling, competitive cheer and women's swimming and diving round out the top five each with over 200 athletes represented (265, 214 and 204, respectively).

The Heart of America Athletic Conference leads all conferences with 401 scholar-athletes. The Great Plains Athletic Conference follows with 367. Boasting 200+ scholar-athletes: Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (252), Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (242), Crossroads League and Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (223).