ROCK HILL, S.C. -- Winthrop University volleyball seniors Avery Jolley and Rachel McCollum were honored with the Christenberry Award for Academic Excellence on Thursday, the conference office announced. 

The award is given to a graduating male and female student-athlete who attain the highest GPA during their undergraduate collegiate careers.  It is the 14th consecutive year at least SIX student-athletes have been honored, and the total surpasses the record number of 12 recipients achieved in 2019-20 and 2024-25.  Below are this year's recipients in alphabetical order: 

• Radford women's lacrosse player Mady Cheney (4.00 in Marketing & Economics) 
• Radford women's cross country/track & field runner Mia Farley (4.00 in Allied Health Sciences) 
• UNC Asheville men's soccer player Miller Hayden (4.00 in IDC - Healthcare and Society) 
• Gardner-Webb women's swimmer Sara-Michael Jann (4.00 in Biology) 
• Gardner-Webb men's swimmer Jacob Jensen (4.00 in Accounting) 
• Radford women's golfer Macy Johnson (4.00 in Economics) 
• Winthrop volleyball player Avery Jolley (4.00 in Business Administration/Healthcare Management) 
• USC Upstate women's basketball player Aubrie Kierscht (4.00 in Political Science) 
• Presbyterian women's soccer player Izzy Manders-Lamcken (4.00 in Biochemistry) 
• Winthrop volleyball player Rachel McCollum (4.00 in Biology) 
• High Point baseball player Dalton Olsovsky (4.00 in Finance) 
• UNC Asheville women's swimmer Tess Peny (4.00 in Health Sciences) 
• Charleston Southern volleyball player Emily Struckmeyer (4.00 in Pre-Law/Legal Studies/Student Ministry) 
• Presbyterian women's soccer player Ella Williams (4.00 in Biology) 

Big South member institutions nominate one male and one female student-athlete for the annual Christenberry Award, or multiple student-athletes that tie for the highest GPA on their respective campus.  The honor is named for George A. Christenberry, the former President of Augusta College (now Augusta University) and one of the founders of the Big South Conference.  A member of the Big South Hall of Fame, Christenberry served as the league's first President from 1983-86. 

Jolley (Knoxville, Tenn.) wrapped up a historic 2025 season by earning AVCA All-America Honorable Mention honors, making her just the second Eagle in program history to receive the distinction.  She also picked up AVCA All-Region recognition and became the first Winthrop student-athlete since 2020 to earn CSC Academic All-America Third-Team honors.  On the court, Jolley was the 2025 Big South Player of the Year as she helped the Eagles win a share of the Big South regular-season championship.  She tied the program's single-match kills record with 30, and surpassed 1,000 career kills.  The 4.0 Business Administration student earned back-to-back Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors as a member of Winthrop's Honors College and Phi Kappa Phi. 

McCollum (Lakeland, Tenn.) concluded her Winthrop career with First-Team All-Conference honors in 2025, capping four years in which she put together 689 assists, 408 kills and 382 digs across 209 sets played.  McCollum became the first Eagle since 2012 to record a triple-double in a mtch, a feat she pulled off twice this past season -- including a career-high 56 assists against USC Upstate.  She earned Big South Setter of the Week honors three times and landed on multiple All-Tournament Teams.  Off the court, she has been a Dean's List member since her first semester while completing an internship at Regional One Health and staying active in FCA, SAAC and Gamma Beta Phi.