BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Tennessee State University had 12 student-athletes earn the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Academic Medal of Honor for the 2024-25 academic year, the league announced Friday.

The OVC Academic Medal of Honor is awarded annually to student-athletes who achieve the highest grade point average in a conference-sponsored sport. Every recipient for the 2024-25 academic year posted a perfect 4.0 GPA.

Men's and women's tennis led the Tigers with five honorees: Jonasz Dziopak, Taj Hibbert, Francisca Gomez Weiss, Jovana Nikolic, and Natalie Walsh. TSU football placed three on the list: Blake Gamez, Kyle Hicks, and Connor Ruth. Men's and women's golf also had three honorees: Aden Napier, Sampo Stahl, and Trixie Sabulao. Maggie Keenan of women's volleyball rounded out the Tigers' selections.

This year, a combined total of 354 student-athletes were named to the Medal of Honor list, marking the second-highest total in league history, trailing only the 356 honorees in 2020-21. The total is 42 higher than last year.

Over the past five years, more than 1,590 student-athletes have earned the OVC Academic Medal of Honor.

The OVC will announce the recipients of the Commissioner's Honor Roll, the Academic Achievement Award, and the Team Academic Achievement Awards next week.