Five Buffs named CSC At-Large Academic All-District honorees

AUSTIN, Texas (May 23, 2023) – Five Milligan University golf and bowling student-athletes landed a spot on the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District At Large Team on Tuesday.

Graduate women's golfer Alayna Perryman collects Academic All-District honors for the third time in her career. She is joined by fellow women's golfers junior Gabby Hammond and sophomore Kate Castle. Graduate men's golfer Brandon Hammond and graduate women's bowler Brianna Rickert also secured academic honors.

Perryman earned her MBA with a 3.90 grade point average in 2022-23. One of the most accomplished golfers in school history, she is a two-time NAIA Second Team All-American, a three-time All-Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) First Team selection and was the 2021 AAC Player of the Year. This season she secured all-tournament honors six times and was the medalist at the Northeast Tennessee Spring Shootout.

Gabby Hammond is a 4.0 student majoring in economics and mathematics. She notched four top-10 finishes including an all-tournament showing at the NAIA Direct Qualifier/AAC Spring Championship. She matched a then-single round record with a two-under 71 (par 73) this past fall at the East Tennessee Collegiate.

Castle owns a 3.83 cumulative GPA in social work and was honored as the 2023 AAC Player of the Year. Kastle set Milligan's single-round (-3, 69) and 36-hole (-1, 143) tournament records as she was the medalist at the AAC Fall Preview. She was a five-time all-tournament finisher this season.

Brandon Hammond earned his MBA from Milligan with a 3.97 GPA this spring. He contributed to Milligan's team total in 10 rounds and shot even-par or better in three rounds in 2022-23. Hammond notched an eighth-place finish with a four-under 140 at the Northeast Tennessee Spring Shootout.

Rickert is a graduate transfer from Ottawa (Kan.) and owns a 3.85 GPA while pursing a Master of Arts in Humanities. She helped Milligan's inaugural women's bowling team to a Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) championship and a seventh-place finish at the NAIA National Championship. Rickert earned All-SSAC Second Team honors with a 181.281 average. She posted one top-10 individual finish and three top-25 showings.

The CSC's at-large program in the NAIA includes golf, bowling, beach volleyball, competitive cheer and dance, lacrosse, men's volleyball and wrestling.

CSC's Academic All-District program recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performance in competition and in the classroom. To be eligible for the award, voted on by Athletic Communication professionals, student-athletes must maintain a cumulative 3.50 GPA or higher and must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution. Academic All-District honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America ballot.