WALESKA, Ga. - Four Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) swimmers were recently named to the College Sports Communicators (CSC) NAIA Academic All-America Team.
Making the women's team are senior Rachel Connell, junior Kaylee Williams and sophomore Liz Mahan - all of Milligan, were among the 14 NAIA student-athletes to earn this prestigious honor in 2022-23. Meanwhile, Milligan's Andre Bazzana was one of three sophomores on the 12-man Academic All-America team.
Connell caps her Milligan University career as one of the top academic achievers in team history. She is a senior electrical engineering major with a 3.99 cumulative grade point average and is set to become the first four-time CSCAA Scholar All-American in program history this summer.
Connell was a four-time AAC relay champion and a four-time runner-up at the AAC Championships and was the Buffs' Champions of Character team member in 2023. Connell was a member of two All-American relays, the 200-yard freestyle relay and 400 free relay in the 2020-21 season. She concludes her career in Milligan's all-time top five in the 100-yard backstroke (59.28), 200 back (2:12.90) and 100-yard butterfly (59.23).
Williams, a junior exercise science major with a cumulative 3.56 GPA, adds another prestigious accolade as the most accomplished breaststroker in team history. Williams is a four-time individual All-American in the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke events and is a four-time relay All-American in 200 and 400 medley relays.
Williams is a six-time AAC individual champion, sweeping the 100 and 200 breast titles in each of her first three seasons, and is a four-time conference champion in medley relays. This season, Williams scored 25 points at the NAIA National Championships with a pair of All-America efforts in the breaststroke events. She swam school record time of 1:04.13 in the 100 breast and 2:21.92 in the 200 breast and was on both of the Buffs' All-American medley relays.
Mahan was one of two sophomores to earn NAIA Academic All-America honors this season. A nursing major with a 3.77 cumulative GPA, Mahan is a five-time relay All-American and two-time national qualifier.
Mahan won her first AAC individual title this year in the 50 freestyle and is a two-time conference runner-up in the 200 free. She has been part of six AAC championship-winning relays over her first two seasons as a Buff. On Milligan's all-time leaderboards, Mahan ranks third in the 50 free (24.70) and 100 free (53.54) and fifth in the 200 free (1:56.64).
Bazzana is a graphic design major from Guarulhos, Brazil and owns a 3.88 cumulative grade point average.
In the pool, Bazzana is a three-time individual NAIA All-American and a nine-time relay All-American. In two AAC Championships, Bazzana has won four individual titles and swam on nine conference championship relays. In 2022 he was honored as the AAC Swimmer of the Year.
Bazzana owns Milligan's team record in the 200-yard freestyle (1:39.73) and ranks top five in program history in the 100 free, 500 free, 1000 free, 100-yard butterfly and 200 fly.
To view the complete women's honorees, click here.
To view the complete men's honorees, click here.
(Story provided by Milligan sports information)