ROSEMONT, Ill. — The Big Ten Conference announced its Big Ten Distinguished Scholars on Monday, July 13, with 119 University of Michigan student-athletes – including three women’s water polo competitors – earning the distinction for their work in the classroom over the 2025-26 academic year.
Abby Schulz (So., Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids), Maddy Scarth (Jr., Surrey, British Columbia/Huntington Beach (Calif.)) and Sophia Panossian (Sr., Santa Barbara, Calif./San Marcos) earn the honor following a season in which they helped the Wolverines to an 18-10 record and a Third Place finish at home during the 2026 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Championship.
The Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honor goes to student-athletes who recorded a grade-point average of 3.7 or higher for the previous academic year. Michigan has boasted at least 75 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honorees for 10 straight academic school years and more than 100 in five of the last six.
The conference office also awards Academic All-Big Ten distinction in the fall, winter and spring seasons for student-athletes with a 3.0 cumulative GPA or greater. U-M had 149 honorees in the fall, 96 in the winter and 232 in the spring to give the Wolverines 477 honorees during the 2025-26 academic year.
