BREVARD, N.C. – Brevard College women's soccer junior goalkeeper Abby Nunez becomes the first Tornado in any sport to earn College Sports Communicators Academic All-America® honors, with a selection onto the All-America® First Team.
 
The standout keeper was previously selected to the CSC Academic All-District® Team in November for the first time in her collegiate career, and for her stellar work on the field, in the classroom, and in the community, has earned First Team All-America® accolades.
 
Nunez, a native of Homestead, Fla., recently completed her third season with the Tornados, earning her second-straight USA South Conference Goalkeeper of the Year selection while helping BC win its second-consecutive USA South Regular Season Championship and the program's first USA South Tournament Championship and automatic berth into the 2025 NCAA DIII Championship Tournament.
 
Nunez earned All-Conference First Team, All-Tournament Team, and Tournament Most Valuable Player accolades in 2025 as one of the nation's premier shot-stoppers. An Exercise Science major at BC, Nunez led the USA South with 0.36 goals against average and a 90.2% save percentage, registered six solo shutouts, and made 46 saves. In her three-season Tornado career, Nunez has played over 2,800 minutes in goal, making 97 saves with a 90.7% save percentage, 17 solo shutouts and an overall record of 25-3-5.
 
Nunez helped the Tornados in 2025 to the most successful and historic campaign for BC women's soccer since Brevard joined the NCAA. BC completed consecutive unbeaten regular seasons, and in 2025, finished off its first regular season without a loss or a tie (16-0-0) since the 1996 and 1997 NJCAA National Championship BC women's soccer teams.
 
Academic All-American is a title reserved for college student-athletes who perform at an elite level in their chosen sport and in the classroom. The all-time list of 44,000+ Academic All-Americans includes major sports stars and some of the world's most accomplished individuals in medicine, business, science and the arts. Established in 1952 and selected by College Sports Communicators, Academic All-America is the longest running and premier award for athletic and academic success across championship college sports at all NCAA levels, the NAIA, two-year colleges and Canadian institutions. Teams are announced year-round and amplified by CSC member colleges, universities, and conferences on a wide local, regional, national, and even international scope.
   
Natalie Barnouw earns the Academic All-America® Team Member of the Year for Division III after also being named to the first team in 2023 and the second team in 2024. Ten of the 33 members of the Academic All-America® Division III women's soccer teams claim a perfect 4.0 GPA in their undergraduate work or graduate school. The 12 members of the first team have an average GPA of 3.94, with the entire Division III team retaining a collective average GPA of 3.91.
 
Joining Barnouw as a three-time selection on the Academic All-America® Division III team is Hanna Heaton (Christopher Newport University) who earned first team honors in 2024 and third team in 2023. Other repeat selections include Annebel Balogh de Galantha (Emmanuel College), Gabriella Baltes (Illinois Tech), Ella Macko (Johns Hopkins University), and Sarah Zimmerman (Washington and Lee University). Four student-athletes earned the first Academic All-America® honor for their program Lila Brown (Dickinson College), Katie Diem (Cortland), Nunez (Brevard College), and Diana Pon (Penn State Harrisburg).
 
The Division III Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structure to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2025-26 Division III Academic All-America® program.
 
For more information about the CSC Academic All-District and Academic All-America Teams program, visit AcademicAllAmerica.com.  
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